Learning outcomes in Zimbabwe remain alarmingly low despite the country’s high primary school completion rates, according to a new education report released by the African Union and UNESCO.
The Spotlight Report on Foundational Learning, launched at the ADEA Triennale in Accra, Ghana, reveals that across Africa only one in ten children completes primary education and achieves minimum learning proficiency. The situation in Zimbabwe, while better than in many neighbouring countries, still highlights deep inequalities and systemic weaknesses in the education system.
The report, produced in partnership with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, shows that although 98% of the richest children finish primary school, the figure drops sharply to 78% among the poorest. It warns that completion rates alone mask a serious learning crisis, where many pupils leave school without mastering basic reading and numeracy skills.
Researchers say too much of school leaders’ time is spent on administration rather than supporting teaching and learning. Forty percent of head teachers reported spending a large share of their time on paperwork and meetings, while just 12% said they focused equally on instructional leadership.
“When only one in ten children achieve minimum proficiency, and headteachers tell us they are clerks, teachers and accountants all in one, we have a problem,” said Manos Antoninis, Director of the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report. “We must immediately free up principals to delegate administrative tasks and focus on the core job—ensuring that children can learn.”
Classroom conditions remain difficult for many schools. More than half report having fewer than one textbook per child, while nearly half of teachers say their pupils have none at all. Teachers also report limited access to guides and learning materials, contradicting official claims of adequate supply.
The report also points to significant challenges in implementing Zimbabwe’s language of instruction policy, known as the Zimbabwe Early Learning Policy (ZELP). While 80% of school heads say it is fully enforced, only 22% of classrooms actually teach in pupils’ home languages. In about 30% of schools, lessons are conducted exclusively in English, creating a complete mismatch with children’s linguistic backgrounds.
One in three teachers cannot speak their pupils’ main home language, and even those who can often avoid using it, particularly in urban schools. The report says this mismatch undermines early learning and reflects weak enforcement and monitoring of the language policy.
Zimbabwe has five of the six key school leadership policies identified by UNESCO as fundamental for learning improvement. However, it lacks a national school leadership competency framework to guide how principals are selected, trained and supported. The country also does not have a national learning assessment framework to measure progress in foundational skills.
“The most concerning element is not just that learning levels are so low, but that systems are operating in the dark,” said Antoninis. “Until countries invest in robust data and clear targets, even the most dedicated school leaders will continue fighting this crisis with one hand tied behind their backs.”
Despite the challenges, Zimbabwe was praised for its large-scale school feeding programme, one of only ten in Africa to be fully funded by government.
The programme reaches two-thirds of all primary school pupils, compared to an average of 43% across the continent, helping to improve attendance and concentration among learners.
The report urges African governments to strengthen the role of school leaders in improving learning outcomes, provide training and support to help them focus on teaching quality, and build data systems to monitor student performance.
It concludes that without strong leadership, effective policy frameworks and reliable assessment tools, Africa’s children will continue to be denied the quality education they deserve.
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