Defunct educational system
Three kindergarten kids
With pocket money
More than the teacher’s three month salary
Tease their sleeping teacher.
“Come on teacher,
Teach us some grammar and arithmetic
And we will give you
Bits of pocket our money
Then maybe you won’t always
Be so miserable.”
The teacher purrs softly
Unoffended by their noisy teasing
And when they persist
He raises his head and says
“Go teach your fathers
To change the government.”
By Lawrence Hoba
Some solutions for health and education in Zimbabwe
Practical ways to Help Zimbabwe- Education and Health, just for now!
EDUCATION:
Problem: there is a severe shortage of teachers in schools as many are leaving for the informal sector due to poor salaries. My nephews in Form 3 at a boarding school outside Bulawayo are supposed to be taking 9 classes, but only have 4 teachers out of 9 teachers needed for the classes showed up this semester- 5 classes are without teachers. Furthermore, there is a great shortage of books.
Current efforts: We have established links with book publishers in Zimbabwe to print copies of the books used in the local examinations. On average a book costs no more than US$20 if we buy in bulk for many schools. We are raising money to pay for student tuition fees, but it is not enough to only support students. Our partner foundation in the US already sends books to Zimbabwe about twice a year to a group of 75 schools. Read more
Zim education: can we still afford to brag?
The year 2008 has witnessed great signs of deterioration in our ‘highly rated’ educational system. Of all the things, the responsible authorities have delayed this year’s school examinations, which were supposed to have been written in October. Universities and colleges are struggling to open. Food is lacking at schools and colleges. A lot of problems have been cited, among them- lack of finance, and manpower as teachers strike, and generally are not committed anymore to perform their duties.
