The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has urged government to mobilize resources towards the construction of climate-proofed education facilities in the wake of frequent natural disasters.
This came out at the 2022 National Budget Review held in Harare this morning.
“We talk of quality, resilient education that should see us continue with education even in the advent of calamities,” said ZIMTA chief executive officer, Sifiso Ndlovu.
“The architecture and the designs of the schools they don’t respond to the needs of the communities in terms of climate. We speak about a change in the design and therefore climate resilient structures in schools. We saw what happened in Chimanimani and what we are seeing what is happening now. In some case there are inadequate classrooms.”
Most schools, particularly in the rural areas are of substandard quality and are often blown away during rainy and windy seasons.
The 2022 National budget allocated the biggest chunk to the primary and secondary education sector at ZW$124 billion.
However, the country’s largest teacher representative body says the resources remain inadequate given the deplorable state of schools not just those in marginal areas but in urban centers.
“We are calling upon quality environments which talk about infrastructure. There are government schools some of them which were built by the Rhodes Trust in 1903. In Bulawayo we have Coughlan and Milton. When you go into those schools the state of these buildings are in a state of disrepair is very disappointing and it doesn’t talk to quality and resilient education. We need to look at that,” said Ndlovu.
He went on to criticize the 2022 budget for setting a US$ 50 levy on cellphones, a move he said worked against digital education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to the need for remote learning.
“How do we talk about access to digital education when you are taxing learners who must access those gadgets (cellphones). We have seen that under COVID 19 protocols, digital education has become a good substitute for learners to continue to be in class while at home, away from school premises,” he said.
Finance and Economic Minister, Mthuli Ncube announced a US$ 50 levy on imported cellphones as a way of encouraging compliance of a 25% tax on each gadget which was being evaded.
