Story by Peter Chivhima
Government has issued a stern warning to unregistered schools, operating in backyards, saying the law will take its course.
Despite government’s efforts to transform the country’s education system, some individuals are not taking heed of calls to formalise their operations.
In an interview with the ZBC News on the sidelines of an event to celebrate the private sector’s contribution to the country’s education sector at the weekend, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Honourable Torerayi Moyo spoke on the need for these institutions to abide by the law.
“We have also allowed private players, individuals, corporates, everyone through a public-private partnership to provide the best education in Zimbabwe. My message to those who want to introduce private colleges is we want them to regularise their operations, they need to register with the ministry. We are the regulators so they are going to respect the laws of the country. Those who are not registered should stay away from providing quality, from providing, opening their schools because the law will be applied against those who are operating illegally,” he said.
The engagement brought together delegates from various sectors, including government, academia and business who pledged to work together with the government to close gaps in the education sector.
“We are ready to work together with the government and we want to apply the support we are getting from government so that we set up schools around the country. This is an opportunity we must embrace as the private sector,” Champion International College managing director, Dr Tendesai Mushamba said.
“We are grateful to the government for its inclusive approach and strategies meant to transform the country’s education system. We as the private sector in education pledge that we will continue working together with the government so that we address the deficit,” noted educationist, Mrs Thusitse Kuta.
Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume weighed in, “So we are willing to partner with the government, with the public sector, with the private sector, on giving them areas and sites where they can set up schools which are fairly new, including the fairly new extensions and other save-ups that require secondary schools. So we are going to be looking into partnerships and how we can accelerate the building of schools in that area. You will notice most of the congestion in the City of Harare is also caused by people doing school runs across town.
“So what we need to do is to give quality schools that are varied in the save-ups where people come from, so that they don’t have to drive across town to get quality education for their children. But we need also to remove hot seating in some of the schools by increasing the number of schools.”
The event also saw students and teachers who excelled in various fields being awarded.
Government is rolling out several initiatives to transform the country’s education sector including the construction of new schools and upgrading existing infrastructure.
