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Sydney Kawadza Senior Features Writer
Churches have played a central role in contributing to education in Zimbabwe – a duty missionaries undertook since colonial times. Churches built and controlled significant numbers of primary and secondary schools as well as some tertiary and technical schools. During the 1970s primary schools were handed over to local authorities and communities following a cut in grants for teachers salaries. With the advent of indpendence all teachers moved to become civil servants and were paid the same salary and so the switchover worked.

According to the Education Act, any person or organisation can establish a school.

The Act, however, places greater responsibility of establishing and managing schools in the hands of local authorities to ensure fair and equitable access to primary education.

However, unseen circumstances – namely the economic downturn of the past 15 or so years – have seen the policy come unstuck.

In the Midlands province, Tongogara Rural District Council has resolved to invite interested churches to assume control over the schools – but not without new challenges.

In an interview recently, Tongogara RDC community and social services executive officer Mr Boas Dube said as the economic challenges started biting into the council coffers most teachers deserted the schools.

“There was also rampant destruction of property at most schools from that time up to around 2009. The situation was becoming too bad to comprehend.

“According to the Rural District Councils Act, we have a mandate to ensure quality education for our children and we are also entitled to make sure the infrastructure at these schools is sound.

“We, however, agreed with our various School Development Committees to approach our partners and the churches have been quite forthcoming in taking over the responsibilities of running the schools as was the prior arrangement,” Mr Dube said.

Mr Dube, however, noted several challenges that have affected their plans as some communities rebuffed the project.

“The proposed changes saw a sudden turnover of staff especially when church administrators imposed new rules including dress codes and related matters.

“However, some of these issues are caused by suspicion and there is need to demystify and clarify why council has come up with such a decision.

“Churches are generally different in how they administer the schools, but we had noticed issues such as payment of fees, staff mobility while results were dropping so we had to move and resolved to engage them as partners,” Mr Dube said.

It also emerged that council was struggling to maintain the schools.

The local authority’s revenue base such as vehicle, liquor and other licensing activities were taken over by Government agents such as ZINARA, EMA and the Liquor Board among others.

Government stopped distributing per capita grants that councils used to maintain the schools.

Starting in 2009, the Tongogara RDC has been handing over schools to the founding churches.

While churches expressed a keen interest in acquiring the schools the transition has not been smooth sailing as communities fought against the takeovers.

The Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation, approached by council to mediate over the conflict, noted various challenges that were affecting the transition.

The CCMT is a Zimbabwean non-governmental organisation working in the field of peace and conflict transformation.

The organisation identified a number of challenges affecting the churches’ efforts to take over administration of the schools in Shurugwi.

Some the issues included inadequate consultation, policy inconsistencies, churches failing to meet expectations, historical connotations, and interference by churches administratively and lack of clarity on implications of the takeovers.

“The failure by council to consult the wider community before the handover of the school is a major flaw in the process. Presently, the council only consults those who have children or wards at the school. The initial process of the hand-over only involves the council, church and community.

“There is no involvement of the education office in the process of the handover of schools except in the auditing of assets only (while) another important stakeholder, the Civil Service Commission – the teachers’ employer – has been left out of the consultation process,” the organisation noted.

The CCMT noted that contradictions in the various policy documents regarding the administration of schools as well recruitment and deployment of personnel contributed to the conflict.

Government, in a Memorandum of Understanding with churches, allows them to establish and run an educational institution, have 50 percent of their staff complement from their denomination, recommend for appointment of a school head and deputy who will assist in the furthering of the vision and mission of their beliefs and faith and to compel staff and pupils to participate in religious activities.

However, according to CCMT, in the case of newly acquired schools staff had been deployed despite their religious beliefs.

“Asking them to conform to the expected standards of the church leads to various clashes between the teachers and the responsible authority.”

According to the Civil Service Commission, teachers are recruited on the basis of their qualifications and not their religious background.

The organisation, however, noted that that although handovers are based on the MOU between Government and churches, none had sight of the document.

Some churches, according to the research findings, were failing to fulfil the promises they made to the communities when they took over the schools.

“Some churches had promised to pay fees for some disadvantaged children so parents stopped paying fees for the children.”

Teachers have also failed to adhere to the expectations of the church.

“The main reason why churches established schools is to win souls through education. Missionary education began as an auxiliary for the evangelism,” the CCMT noted in their research findings.

It was also established that most schools prior to independence were run by churches according to the division of churches during the colonial era.

“Missionary education was largely associated with white missionaries prior to independence. When Government took over schools at independence to implement the free education policy some community members saw it as part of the victory of the liberation struggle.

“Therefore, giving schools back to churches now seems like a reversal of the gains of independence.”

The churches, according to research findings, were interfering in the school administration.

“There appears to be unclear demarcation between the church and the school. On several occasions church issues have been imposed on the school and at times school issues have been discussed in the congregation where there is no room to ask questions.

“The failure to separate the two institutions has led to some church leaders asking the school head to report to them and some have even tried to discipline members of staff at the school.”

The organisation also noted that there was lack of clarity on what the new responsible authority is taking over.

It was not clear at handover what the implications would be buildings constructed by parents at the school, movable and immovable assets and staff at the school among other issues.

“Communities have invested in the schools, particularly in development over the years. As a result they do not expect the school to be taken over by churches, and they see their efforts as going to waste.”

The communities have, however, started to appreciate the benefits associated with the takeovers.

Councillor Mr Mathews Banda said council was happy that the process was now in motion.

“It is good that all stakeholders are involved in the process. It is important that all stakeholders are engaging in the process.

“Some of the churches have done quite well because Government is running on a tight budget because of the sanctions and other challenges and it is my opinion that the churches have started quite well,” he said.

Headman Mavedzenge, who has under his jurisdiction St Boniface Mavedzenge Primary School, successfully handed over the school to the Anglican Church said they were reaping benefits from the takeover.

“There is nothing wrong when communities are benefiting from such hand-overs. The church leadership has been very helpful and the results are already there to be seen,” he said.

Mrs Sophia Kanyisai concurred with Head Mavedzenge adding that the school had lost a lot of property due to vandalism.

“We have received books, chairs and other equipment that has been helpful in improving the children’s education.

“The enrolment has also surged as children come to benefit from our smart partnership with the church,” she said.

Methodist Church in Zimbabwe’s Reverend Edmore Mashora said the church’s main objective when taking over schools was to guide children in God’s way.

“We believe the church’s teaching could help mould a child who knows God. We are aware of the fears from communities but it is wrong to believe that we want to change how schools are administered.

“Our activities will improve and assist the schools. We want to achieve one of our core values which is to transform lives,” he said.

Shurugwi Better Schools Programme Zimbabwe district co-ordinator Mr Tendisai Madzimure said churches had introduced moral values to the education system.

“This is part of Government’s private-public partnership concept. We expect the churches to help in improving infrastructure at the schools and providing other resources.”

The CMMT, however, recommended that the parties to the takeover agreements to come up with policies that govern the transition process.

“Rules used in schools already under churches should not be used for schools that are transitioning. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should play a central role in monitoring the transition, that is, they should ask the new responsible authority to come up with a transition plan and monitor its implementation.

“There is also need to consult the wider community since the views of parents with children at the school may not reflect the views of the rest of the community.”

The organisation also called for further research on the documents that govern the relationship between Government and church with regards to education, particularly the MOU.

“The handover agreement should address issues of obligations and rights for each part involved in the handover so that the implications of the handover are clear to everyone,” the organisation noted.

CMMT said although council was handing over the running of schools to churches they should not surrender their general duty to the provision of primary education.

The councillor, as the representative of the local authority in the community, should maintain a role in the provision and management of primary education, it added.

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