Government set to recruit 8 000 teachers

Sikhumbuzo Moyo and Blessings Chidakwa, Chronicle Writers

GOVERNMENT is set to recruit 8 000 more teachers next year to improve the teacher-student ratio as part of a raft of measures aimed at improving pass rates in under-performing schools countrywide while teachers in remote areas are set to receive hardship allowances.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is implementing a cocktail of measures to bridge the gap between their urban counterparts. As the Second Republic continues to bridge the urban-rural divide education gap, 150 rural schools have been solarised with more earmarked for the coming year.

Government is also in the process of building 2 800 schools to further reduce the distance learners walk to school.

In an interview, Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Torerayi Moyo, said despite not having received the nod from the treasury, his ministry remains committed to undertaking the recruitment process as it wants a better education system in the country.

“The Ministry of Finance has not provided us with treasury concurrence to recruit new teachers in 2025.

However, as a Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, we lobbied for the recruitment of 8 000 new teachers,” he said.

Minister Moyo said the recruitment is expected to progressively reduce the teacher-pupil ratio and improve the quality of education in Zimbabwe.

“In 2024, we recruited more than 5 000 teachers. That has tremendously reduced the high teacher-pupil ratio. With the support even in 2025, we expect to recruit more than 8 000 so that we can reduce the teacher-pupil ratio to around 1 to 30 or 35,” he said.

Minister Moyo, said plans are afoot to provide teachers from remote areas with hardship allowances.

“There is some kind of a hardship allowance because we know some of the schools are located quite a distance from the house. Where teachers might be walking a kilometre or more, we tend to provide a hardship allowance,” he said.

As per standing Government policy, teachers that will be deployed in rural schools are mandated to sign a contract to serve a period of four years before seeking a transfer and in terms of Section 7 (1) of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 as amended, members will serve a probationary period of not less than one year, and thereafter become confirmed in their new posts at the end of the probationary period, subject to satisfactory performance.

The appointments shall be subject to passing security vetting and satisfactory medical examinations.

Minister Moyo said the Government is also upgrading rural schools to improve the quality of education.

“We used to have quite a number of disparities in terms of access to education, opportunities to access digital tools and some schools did not even have electricity but the Government has solarised some of the schools supported by Unicef” he said.

“We receive support from the fiscus, national budget where we are allocated funds towards teaching-learning materials. About 150 schools were solarised this year.”

Minister Moyo said they have also decentralised the recruitment of teachers.

Zimbabwe is ahead of its African peers in the provision of quality education with the Government committing a huge chunk of its budget towards the sector and building new schools to ensure basic education accessibility.

Speaking in Parliament recently, Minister Moyo said the recommended teacher-pupil ratio at the infant level is 1:20, at junior level from Grade Three to Grade Seven is 1:30, at Form One to Form Four it is 1:30, Form Five and Six, 1:20.

This year, a total of 10 506 teachers were employed, which aligns with President Mnangagwa’s employment drive initiative.

In the past few years, under the Second Republic, the Government has made great strides in improving education outcomes in the country, vowing to accelerate the momentum to ensure that all schools excel while eliminating zero pass rates by 2030.

To achieve this ambitious target, the Government plans to allocate more resources to schools, including textbooks, teaching materials and state-of-the-art technology, as well as building science laboratories.

The Grade Seven results for this year saw a 49,01 percent pass rate, significantly up from 45,57 percent last year.

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) attributed the increased pass rate to better teaching following interventions by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in advancing and upgrading the teaching and learning process, ensuring more pupils received better teaching.

All subjects saw pass rates above 50 percent with two, Shona and Physical Education and Arts, going above 80 percent.

One new optional subject offered was Xhosa, an indigenous language, which had a pass rate of 72,41 percent, although few students took this subject.

The number of candidates rose from 327 599 in 2020 to 387 429 this year, while the pass rate improved from 37,11 percent in 2020 to 49,01 percent this year.

However, concern has been raised over centres that recorded zero pass rates including schools in the Matabeleland region.

Three schools in Gwanda District, Matabeleland South-Zindele, Koodooval and Driehoek, recorded zero pass rates. In Insiza District, Mbembesi, Zhampale, Tshunkunyane and Gwatemba had zero pass rates.

In Bulilima District, schools such as Ndutshwa, Phumuza and Riverblock also scored zero passes. The same applies to Matabeleland North schools such as Somakantana, Hompane and Makhasane, among others in Lupane, Hwange, Bubi, Tsholotsho, Binga and Umguza Districts.