Veiled intent or advancing children’s right to education? The legality of payments for extra lessons in Zimbabwe’s education system (original) (raw)
Related papers
The purpose of the study was to establish the practice of extra lessons in Chinhoyi urban secondary schools in Zimbabwe. A case study was adopted to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the practice of extra lessons in schools. Purposive sampling was used to select the two schools for the study and the participants. A total of 160 participants were used to solicit information for the study. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklists were enlisted for gathering data for the study. The study established that extra lessons targeted those students who could pay for the service rendered; were being carried out during normal school hours, lunch hour, after school hours and weekends; the activities were not being supervised; popular with pupils preparing for public examinations; promoted elitism and unequal access to education; provided lucrative employment for teachers; were a result of shoddy teaching during normal hours and that pupils would benefit more if extra lessons are supervised and coordinated. The study recommends that extra lessons be done outside normal school hours, with parents having the honours to identify the tutors, discuss areas of the learner's concerns with them and monitor progress made during the lessons. The study also recommends that extra lessons should be supervised and coordinated if students are to effectively benefit .School Development Committees should discuss with parents and come up with modalities to incentivise teachers so that all students benefit and that policy makers need to take a decisive position on the status of extra lessons in schools.
Teacher incentives: a death knell for education in Zimbabwe?
2011
Government is failing to pay teachers sustainable salaries. In an attempt to improve the teacher’s incomes and to check strikes and brain drain, The Government through circular minute number 5 of 2009, directed that ten percent (10%) of the levies collected by schools should go towards paying teacher’s incentives. This led to an outcry in the media by both parents and teachers. This study set out to establish the problems that emanated from the payment of the 10% incentives at local level. One hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were distributed to teachers who were conveniently sampled among 1200 teachers who were marking the ZIMSEC November 2009 O level examinations at Chinhoyi University of Technology. Interviews were conducted with 30 parents who were conveniently sampled from 100 parents whose children attended school in three Gweru district secondary schools. The total sample was one hundred and eighty (180) participants. The findings indicated that the incentive paymen...
Incentives in Zimbabwe's education system: Cure or curse?
International journal of innovation and scientific research, 2014
During the years 2005 to 2008, Zimbabwe plunged into an economic depression. Many social and economic systems were severely shaken, while others crumpled. The education sector was not spared. Many schools closed as teachers left their jobs for the informal sector while others crossed the borders in search of greener pastures. It was against this background that some parents mooted the idea of incentivising teachers as a way of retaining and motivating them. Many teachers were given financial incentives, while in a few cases, incentives were paid in kind. With incentives, some semblance of sanity returned to the education sector. Unfortunately, a few years down the line, the issue of incentives courted so much controversy, poisoning relations amongst stakeholders, especially between parents and teachers. This study assessed how incentives were administered and why they spoiled relations amongst stakeholders. This qualitative study made use of the survey research design where data wer...
2019
Most of all, to my Lord and Saviour, glory is to God in the Highest! This dissertation is also dedicated to Shumiro Sarah Crystal, my beloved grandchild, whose four-month experience with mortals is a celebration that uplifts my spirit. I dedicate this work to Irene Fatima, my spouse, and life's pillar of strength, as well as to Kudakwashe Morgan, Danai Moreen, Gardner, and the big five. Last, but not least, I dedicate this thesis to the most deserving one − my loving mother, Janet, Tukiso − the last in the Mabuto clan's line of great queens and grandmothers, who, despite her advanced age and physical health, patiently endured the arduous journey with me.
The Legal Framework Governing Parental Involvement with Education in Zimbabwe
Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
This research aimed at investigating the legal framework for the implementation of Parental Involvement (PI) programmes and school governors’ and managers’ understanding of the legal documents. A survey design was used to gather data on the biographic information, legal statutes and perceptions of the respondents towards PI by means of a questionnaire consisting of twenty-four pre-coded response items. The combined responses of fifty-one education managers and forty-seven school governors (98) indicated that participants were cognizant of the legal engagement of parents in the delivery of education and the resultant impact it could have on school performance. The research also revealed that citizen participation adopted by schools within the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy enhances the availability of educational resources and the quality of service delivery. Significant, though, was the failure of educationally sound school governors, to hire and fire personnel although m...
Exploring the Practice of “Extra” Lessons as Offered in Chinhoyi
The purpose of the study was to establish the practice of extra lessons in Chinhoyi urban secondary schools in Zimbabwe. A case study was adopted to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the practice of extra lessons in schools. Purposive sampling was used to select the two schools for the study and the participants. A total of 160 participants were used to solicit information for the study. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklists were enlisted for gathering data for the study. The study established that extra lessons targeted those students who could pay for the service rendered; were being carried out during normal school hours, lunch hour, after school hours and weekends; the activities were not being supervised; popular with pupils preparing for public examinations; promoted elitism and unequal access to education; provided lucrative employment for teachers; were a result of shoddy teaching during normal hours and that pupils would benefit more if extra lessons are supervised and coordinated. The study recommends that extra lessons be done outside normal school hours, with parents having the honours to identify the tutors, discuss areas of the learner's concerns with them and monitor progress made during the lessons. The study also recommends that extra lessons should be supervised and coordinated if students are to effectively benefit .School Development Committees should discuss with parents and come up with modalities to incentivise teachers so that all students benefit and those policy makers need to take a decisive position on the status of extra lessons in schools.
Zimbabwe's public education system reforms: Successes and challenges
The purpose of this article is to discuss Zimbabwe's public education system. First, the article provides a brief look at pre-independence education in Zimbabwe. Second, it discusses some of the reforms that took place in the Zimbabwe education system following independence. Third, it looks at the current structure of Zimbabwe's education system and fourth it discusses some of the successes and challenges faced by the education system within the context of the prevailing social, political and economic environment.
SM CHIKENGEZHA TM MURINGANI 2020 ZIMBABWES EDUCATION AMENDMENT ACT20200522 86295 1q81g7w
2020
Zimbabwe has recently introduced an Education Amendment Act (Amendment Act/The Act) which amends the existing Education Act [Chapter 25:04]. The Amendment Act was gazetted and came into force immediately on the 6th of March 2020. Many have declared it a progressive Act and justifiably so there are a number of provisions that clearly point out the government’s efforts to be in sync with international norms. Below is a breakdown of some of the fundamental and notable changes that reflect what can be argued to be a move to safeguard the future of this once great nation in line with the prescripts of generally accepted norms and standards.
A legal analysis of the constitutional right to basic education in Zimbabwe and South Africa
2019
Rights (1948) Article 26 (1) '1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages'. See also Convention on the Rights of the Child, (1989) Article 28 1. 'States and Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all'. 4 McCowan T Education as Human Right: Principles for a Universal Entitlement to learning, (Bloomsbury Academic, 2013) 13. 5 Ibid. With such recognition of the important rewards of education, section 75 6 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 and section 7 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996 provide for the right to education. Of significance for this study is that, section 75 (1) (a) of the Zimbabwean Constitution and section 29 (1) (a) of the South African Constitution provide a benchmark of education called 'basic education'. Section 75 (1) (a) of the Zimbabwean Constitution provides that 'every citizen and permanent resident has a right to a basic state-funded education' 8 and section 29 (1) (a) of the South African Constitution provides that 'everyone has a right to basic education'. 9 The constitutional provision of the right to basic education by both the Zimbabwean 6 Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013, S75. Right to education '1. Every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe has a right to: A. A basic State-funded education, including adult basic education, and B. Further education, which the State, through reasonable legislative and other measures, must make progressively available and accessible. 2. Every person has the right to establish and maintain, at his/her own expense, independent educational institutions of reasonable standards, provided they do not discriminate on any ground prohibited by this Constitution. 3. A law may provide for the registration of educational institutions referred to in subsection (2) and for the closing of any such institutions that do not meet reasonable standards prescribed for registration. 4. The State must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of the right set out in subsection (1)'.