Stakeholders in the education sector in Bulawayo have written to the Resident Minister Judith Ncube and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, complaining about the continued decline in education standards and the alleged destruction of government vehicles by the Provincial Education Director (PED) Bernard Mazambane.
In their letter, the stakeholders express disappointment at the “unprecedented decline in Education Standards in our Province” since Mazambane’s appointment.
They also note that the province has a multitude of problems, including drug abuse, violence among learners, and poor results.
The stakeholders call for urgent intervention from the Resident Minister and the Ministry, saying that the education system in the province has “no steward or leader” and is “on autopilot.”
They also express concern about the fact that all government vehicles assigned to the office of the PED have been involved in serious accidents within the past year.
“We really need a visionary leader, who has a sense of belonging and is hands-on, not a visitor, who is rarely in the Province. Within a space of one year since his appointment, all Government Vehicles assigned to the office of the PED have been involved in serious accidents,” they said.
“We have seen GED 920, GED 1269 9 (twice involved in accidents) and GED 756 all down through serious road accidents. We then as Stakeholders in Education wonder how this is allowed to continue, are these accidents reported to the police, or authorities in Education, who repairs these vehicles? This is a serious concern as it happens one after another and our answer is that, we doubt if proper procedures and protocols are followed and worse still when it’s done by the PED himself, then who must look after others if he is wantonly doing this, and this is allowed to continue.”
In a separate letter, the Provincial Executive Officer (PEO) Handsome Ncube expressed disappointment at Mazambane’s failure to attend the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) extraordinary general meeting on September 23, 2023.
Ncube noted that the PED’s office had confirmed that it would revert to ZIMTA by Wednesday, September 20, 2023, but that this did not happen. He also says that several attempts to contact the PED were unsuccessful.
Ncube said ZIMTA has a membership of 4,500 members in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, including various officers in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education at management level.
He said that the PED’s no-show “affected our programming to a great extent” and that the association “strongly feels your office failed to give the teachers the respect that they deserve as professionals.”
