Teachers threaten exam marking boycott

By Alex Bell
21 November 2008

The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has threatened not to mark
this year’s public examinations - unless the government pays teachers in
foreign currency – a move that will be yet another blow to an already crumbling education system.

The 2008 academic year has been marred by ongoing strikes as teachers called for better salaries and working conditions. The upsurge in political violence during the election period earlier this year also saw severe interruptions in schooling and it’s believed the majority of Zimbabwe’s pupils have received a total of 23 days worth of education.

Teachers initially boycotted the invigilation of the November 'O' and
'A' level examinations after their demands remained unmet, and after the exams were repeatedly postponed. The Reserve Bank eventually intervened with incentives and some teachers returned to their invigilator posts. But ZIMTA’s national executive officer, Sifiso Ndlovu, told members of the association’s Matabeleland North province in Bulawayo this week that they should not mark examination papers, unless and until their salaries and allowances were paid in hard currency. The Association is demanding that a junior teacher should earn at least US$2 500 monthly.

At the same time, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has also vowed to boycott marking the November examinations, after previously calling for the 2008 academic year to be ‘cancelled’. The Union has argued that the exams are not a fair evaluation of students this year, given the interrupted school year.

PTUZ Secretary-General Raymond Majongwe on Friday dismissed ZIMTA’s demands for foreign currency, saying the issue was no longer about being paid. He argued that the exams are a ‘fraudulent waste of time’ and said the teachers “will not accept any payment to force the marking of these exams, because we are in agreement that 2008 is a wasted year.”

“We won't waste our time and energy marking these futile examinations,” Majongwe said. “Students did not learn anything this year and I do not remember our members invigilating any examinations this year, so what are we going to mark?"