The 2009 academic year is off to a rocky start with school doors remaining firmly closed this week, after an announcement by Zimbabwe's education minister that schools will only open in two weeks time.

Education Minister Stephen Mahere said this week that teachers still needed to mark last year's exams before the new term can begin. But many teachers are refusing to return to work until they are assured of being paid in foreign currency, as local currency has become completely worthless.

The ongoing teacher's strike over salaries and work conditions, coupled with last year's turbulent election period and the humanitarian crisis, saw students receive an estimated total of 23 days worth of schooling. Last November the UN reported that the school attendance rate in Zimbabwe had dropped from 90% to 20%, and by the end of the year most schools had closed early. The dire situation saw the Progressive Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) call for the 2008 academic year to be written-off, with Union officials saying students were not being given a fair chance.

But despite the obvious lack of learning students were forced to write their end of year exams in the midst of the cholera epidemic and a chronic food shortage. The country's pass rate is now expected to dip even lower than 2007's dismal 13% pass rate. PTUZ General Secretary Raymond Majongwe explained on Thursday that the 2008 pass will likely be 'doctored' by the government, saying "the 2008 academic year was a complete disaster."

Majongwe argued that the postponement of the reopening of the school year, as well as the government's decision to allow school and universities to charge fees in US dollars, has proved that "the Zimbabwe education system is completely off the rails."

The dollarisation of the local economy has seen Chisipite High School in Harare start charging US$1,200 per term, while Roxer Academy primary in Harare is charging US$800 a term. At the same time Bulawayo's Masiyephambili Primary School is requiring a fee of US$650.

Tertiary education students will also be left with little choice but to dismiss their hopes of furthering their studies, as universities have not been immune to the fee changes. Midlands State University has announced that their fees will be charged at US$600 per semester, while MBA students are set to pay more than US$1000 per semester. With salaries still pegged in local currency, the fees are completely out of reach for the majority of students and their parents, and attendance at schools and universities is expected to drop significantly when the academic year eventually gets under way.

"Children and their parents are living in abject poverty and cannot afford to even buy food," Majongwe explained. "Not even teachers are going to be able to afford going to school everyday."