School authorities in Bulawayo have called on the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to expedite the process of replacing teachers in schools, citing that there is high teacher-learner ratio in most schools in the province.
They were addressing Minister Torerayi Moyo at St Columbus High School, on Thursday during a tour of schools in the province. The tour started at the beginning of the term and the ministry, to check if schools are adhering to the issued legal circulars.
A representative of the National Association of Secondary Heads implored the ministry to replace teachers on time to ease the burden on teachers.
“We have very high teacher-learner ratios in most of our schools. Some teachers leave for greener pastures, some move from rural to urban areas, and some get promoted. We thus remain with lots of gaps and this burdens the remaining teachers as they have to accommodate the affected learners,” he said.
“We also need the ministry to look into the issue of our vacation leave. Teachers are entitled to three months leave but at the e moment, they are only taking a month. It is difficult for schools to find replacements that will only last a month to fill in. This is a disadvantage to the learners.”
Another representative from Bulawayo Independent Colleges Association (BICA), Elliot Ndlovu, bemoaned the high rates that are for examination fees at independent colleges, citing that their learners pay almost double what public schools pay.
“We implore the ministry to look into the issue of examination fees. Learners from independent colleges pay US$24 for a subject, yet public school learners pay only US$11 per subject. The difference is too much and parents struggle to pay this much amount,” Ndlovu said.
“We also have a challenge of unregistered independent colleges sprouting every day. They are illegally operating and are disturbing the operations of registered ones. Can the ministry do something to address this issue for us?”
In response, Dr Moyo noted that the government will this year recruit at least 7000 teachers to replace teachers who have left various schools.
“The government will this year recruit 5000 teachers. A further 2000 will be recruited to cater for the ones that were not replaced last year. We hope that this will help to address the issue of high teacher-learner ratio in schools. On the issue of vacation leave, teachers can work together and lobby to exchange their leave days for money. This would benefit them financially,” he said.
“For the high examination fees for independent colleges, there is not much we can do. This is an international standard. If parents cannot afford the exam fee there then they must take their children to public schools that charge less. As for the colleges that are operating illegally, they must close with immediate effect. The law will catch up with them soon.”
