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Abigail Mawonde Review Writer
TEACHERS’ Unions say plans by Government to introduce building levy on all school children has left them in a Catch 22 situation. Last week Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora was quoted saying there was a huge deficit of infrastructure in schools and hence his ministry was targeting to begin with the construction of teachers’ houses in both rural and urban areas while construction of classrooms would be done afterwards.

The Primary and Secondary Education Ministry projects $120 million will be raised yearly by levying the four million pupils at learning institutions countrywide which works out to an average of $30 per pupil per year or $10 a term.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association president Mr Richard Gundane said his association was ambivalent about the development.

“What that presents is what we call a catch 22 situation in that the reason for raising the funds is very noble, to improve the accommodation facilities for the teachers because that is what we have been talking about that we need standard accommodation for all the teachers countrywide in rural areas, wherever they are so that they can be attracted to working in all those areas.

“But the other 22 is when you are looking at already an overtaxed parent who fails to pay what they are supposed to be paying right now which means anything additional will present further constrain on the pockets of those particular parents,” he said.

“Remember we are on record saying cost of education must be reduced as much as possible so that education is accessible and available to everybody other than for it to be restricted to the rich only,” he said.

He urged Government to take up its responsibilities.

“It is Government’s responsibility to provide funds for all those things, to provide housing to make sure that the learners are not excluded from school on account of ever increasing school expenses, levies and other related expenses.

Teachers Union of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr Manuel Nyawo said Government had implemented the measure when the country’s current economic environment is harsh.

“We are very much worried about that latest development especially with the fact that it also touches on ourselves as teachers who are also parents in that regard.

“We wonder how the ministry wants to implement the so called building levy on top of the Constitutional Provision when it is the duty of the State to provide basic and free education.

“And the question of basic and free education is now highly questionable if parents are having to pay heavily through other various payments and we are saying as trade unionists, if teachers are going to pay from a meagre that they are currently earning what is the ministry saying about this?”

He added: “We are earning far below the poverty datum line. We have never had any increment to speak about for the better part of last year to where are. What is it that is warranting the ministry to then want to levy a teacher (parent) whom they know are actually struggling to survive?”

Mr Nyawo said they were not going to take the move lightly as it is going to impact negatively on the teachers themselves.

“More so that it is the duty of the employer if he so wishes to provide decent accommodation for the teachers. Parents are also finding it very difficult to raise these amounts.

“Remember we are separated by different geographical locations, some parents in town can afford while others cannot but the better part of parents in the rural areas find it very difficult to raise just a dollar and this development is coming at a time when the ministry is also mooted the idea of levying the same parents examination fees for Grade Seven so these have a ripple effect on the same parents who are struggling to make ends meet,” he said.

Mr Nyawo said Government should come up with measures reduce burden on parents.

“We are appealing to the Government in particular, in conjunction with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to give this development another thought because it is putting too much pressure on the parents who are already burdened with other issues.

“We are also talking of some of those parents who have lost their jobs, there are so many companies that have closed and most of these parents had to migrate from the urban to the rural areas where it is going to be worse in terms of sourcing these funds,” he said.

Mr Nyawo said it would be a noble idea for Government to engage the Corporate World ‘to make this dream of theirs come true’.

“We are saddened by this development and what we can say is that we are not happy about it. Can Government together with the ministry flag this until such time when there has been a reasonable and positive pointer in terms of economic development?

“So far everyone knows that we are finding it very difficult to even see the new day. Government should sympathize and empathize with the parents, teachers included,” he said.

Parents expressed disgruntlement over the matter.

“We can never be happy with any increase on the already exorbitant fees that we are paying to some of these schools and instead of having things being made better for us, different monies are being demanded using different names for it.

“The Government needs to do something so as to make education affordable for everyone. It should just find ways of executing some these things without the involvement of parents,” said one parent who refused to be named.

Another parent echoed the same sentiments.

“Government should be taking responsibility of some of these projects rather than to pass its problems to already heavily-burdened parents.

“There is no money in circulation, we have lost jobs and our informal businesses are not paying well. So as struggling parents we then wonder where the money will come from,” said Ms Constance Rwafa.

Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said the levy is set to commence next year.

The money will repay building loans while addressing Zimbabwe’s 2056-school deficit. Construction will be on a build-operate-transfer arrangement.

The minister said the move would result in teachers teaching subjects they were trained for since lack of accommodation facilities had been resulting in, for instance, having Geography teachers teaching Mathematics as those qualified to teach the subject would have shunned to go and work in the areas where they are required.