Government decision to bond teachers rubbished

By Henry Makiwa
9 November 2007

The government’s plans to bond newly qualified teachers from seeking employment outside the country have been dismissed by teachers and their unions as “unjust”.

Education minister Aeneas Chigwedere, told parliament on Thursday that teachers coming out of colleges will no longer be allowed to work outside the country. Chigwedere also said the government would require neighbouring countries to approach it before employing Zimbabwean teachers as part of measures to mitigate the brain drain in the education sector.

Teachers are some of the least paid workers in the civil service and went on a month long strike at the beginning of the third schools term in September. Thousands of them have been leaving for greener pastures across the borders to neighbouring countries, particularly South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, in search of better salaries.

The Progressive Teachers Union Of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), on Friday dismissed the government’s latest approach to curb the exodus as “ineffective”.

PTUZ spokesman, Harrison Mudzuri said: “The government is once again attempting to cure the symptoms of a crisis and not the root cause of the problem. Bonding the teachers won’t solve issues. Giving them a better pay, better working and living conditions will.

“We have become the laughing stock of the country because we earn peanuts, and yet we educate the nation to become what it is. It’s really sad, and government should shoulder the blame.”

At Thursday’s parliamentary discussion, Chigwedere was quizzed about the country’s examination marking progress. It is understood soldiers have taken over marking as teachers have refused the task due to poor allowances.

The education minister once again made the uncanny pronouncement that “teachers are replaceable by the military.”

Chigwedere said: “There are teachers amongst the armed forces and the police and should it be necessary to recruit them into our marking services, we recruit them not as soldiers or police officers, but as teachers.”