Teachers in the country are yet to hold commemorations to mark the World Teachers’ Day.
Commemorations to mark the World Teachers’ Day, also known as International Teachers Day, are held every year on October 5 to honour teachers and recognise their contributions to education and development.
Many events are organised on this day to emphasise the importance of teachers and learning and to raise the profile and increase the awareness and understanding of the teaching profession and its importance.
The theme for this year, commemorations is: “Young Teachers: The future of the Profession.”
Zimbabwe Teacher Association (ZIMTA) chief executive officer, Sifiso Ndlovu told CITE they had not cancelled this year’s commemorations.
“The commemorations for this year will be held; we are still preparing together with the Ministry (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education) and we are yet to agree on the date,” he said.
Ndlovu said while the national event was being organised in conjunction with government, provinces and districts were free to hold their commemorations.
He was however quick to say the delay had been necessitated by the ongoing public examinations, which he said they did not want to disrupt.
“We did not want to disrupt the Grade seven exams and we also want to all the ‘O Level exams to begin and flow without interruptions,” said Ndlovu.
He said their poor conditions of service had nothing with them celebrating their day, explaining the day was about investment made by teachers in the education sector.
“The purpose is to illuminate society and highlight the need for teachers to be respected,” added Ndlovu.
The conditions of service for Zimbabwean teachers, just like for all civil servants, have continued to deteriorate with the deepening economic crisis, which has rendered their remuneration worthless.
Meanwhile, the Apex Council, an umbrella body for civil servants, has requested an urgent National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) meeting tomorrow, to map a way forward on salaries that correspond with the continuously escalating cost of living.
The council wrote to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and also demanded salaries indexed to the interbank rate.
