Sandra Mandizvidza
24 February 2008
TINASHE Mangunda's dream was to become a medical doctor. Her parents even struggled to raise money to pay a private tutor for her during school holidays.
But Tinashe's dream has been shattered.
She returned to her missionary boarding school in Mashonaland East to complete her Ordinary Levels, to be welcomed by the sad news that she could no longer pursue science subjects, her only door to the world of Hippocrates.
The reason: biology, chemistry and physics teachers had left the school, like many other members of their previously hallowed fraternity, in search of greener pastures.
Now Tinashe is studying Integrated Science.
It looks like the country has been robbed of another aspiring doctor.
Tinashe said: "I did science subjects the whole of last year, but when we came back to school this term we were told that our chemistry, physics and biology teachers had left. So we had to drop the subjects. I was really hurt."
Tinashe, at just 16 years, has become another victim of the brain drain of teachers who continue to flee low pay and appalling working conditions in this country because of the never-ending economic crisis.
Zimbabwean teachers have been migrating to neighbouring Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa with some of them even taking up menial jobs to earn enough money to send back home to their families.
Reports say rural areas are the most affected.
Most teachers believed to be leaving the country are science teachers who are in great demand in other countries.
Peter Mabande, the chief executive officer of Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (ZTA) told The Standard there was a general shortage of teachers for Mathematics, Sciences and technical subjects.
"The situation is being made worse by the massive brain drain of teachers, who are going down South. Our teachers are also in demand there because they are considered to be very good," he said.
The ZTA recently held talks with officials from the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture to address the issue but nothing positive emerged, Mabande said.
The Secretary for Education, Stephen Mahere, could not be reached for comment as his secretary said he was busy attending important meetings.
But it is believed that many schools all over the country, with the exception of private schools, are facing shortages of teachers.
Mabande said they could not possibly know the exact number of teachers who had left because some of them just left out of frustration, without telling anyone or resigning.
But according to Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), at least 25 000 teachers left the profession in 2007.
Mabande said some parents had resorted to buying groceries for teachers so that they could be persuaded to stay.
One school affected by the teachers' exodus is Hanke Adventist High School in Shurungwi, which advertised in the national newspaper for chemistry, physics and accounts teachers.
They were offering successful applicants incentives, including groceries, transport allowances and salary complement.
Last week, some teachers were brutally beaten up by Zanu PF youths in Harare when they were seen tossing flyers to the public, explaining why teachers were on strike.
Among those who were arrested is the secretary-general of PTUZ Raymond Majongwe.
He and eight others were attacked viciously by Zanu PF youths when they went around the city centre, explaining why teachers were on strike.
"Mugabe is giving salary hikes to soldiers and the police and neglecting the teachers because we are labelled anti-Zanu PF," said a furious Majongwe. "Teachers are running away from rural areas because they are being tortured there."
They have been on strike since 24 January, demanding a basic monthly salary of Z$1.7 billion and about $600 million in housing and transport allowances.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Zimbabwe Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
