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Dr Dokora

Bulawayo Bureau
PRIMARY and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora has dismissed reports that Government plans to force teachers to wear uniforms.

In the past few weeks, there have been claims on social media that Government, through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, could soon make it mandatory for schoolteachers to wear uniforms.

Responding to questions from the floor after delivering a speech at the 2016 inaugural Bulawayo Zim-Asset stakeholder conference on Friday, Dr Dokora said: “When I introduce a new policy, we don’t go on WhatsApp. All those rumours, they have even made my beard longer than it was . . . do not be misled by those guys (on social media).”

In his speech, the Minister reiterated that Government was looking forward to the formation of a teachers’ council.

“We are also working to create the teaching council for the first time in our nation. Once we establish a teaching professions council, it means the sector has professionalised; not every Tom and Dick can walk in there and say, ‘I’m teaching or I’ve got a Form Four certificate, please give me a class’.

“You know nothing about teaching, you know nothing about how kids learn,” he said.

Dr Dokora said his Ministry was working to improve the quality of the country’s education system by reviewing the education curriculum.

He said the review would ensure that it did not remain too theoretical.

“Some of you, you’ll remember that in 2014 we did an analysis of the structure and we came to the conclusion that the Early Childhood Development (ECD) modules were literally dysfunctional and took the position to mainstream ECD A and B,” he said.

Dr Dokora said as a result, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education was requested to introduce ECD training in teachers’ colleges.