BULAWAYO
Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) successfully held its education
conference on Saturday 21 April 2012 where stakeholders present articulated their
ideas on the best ways to end the educational problems being faced in Matabeleland.
The conference, which ran under the theme “Revitalising the Education Sector
for Sustainable Development in Matabeleland.” was aimed at coming up with
strategies to improve education in the region, which has faced numerous
problems since independence, something which activists in the region attribute
to marginalisation.
At
the conference, academics and educationists presented papers on the state of
the education sector in Matabeleland, the effects of incentives on education,
social protection in education and opportunities for stakeholder participation
in education. Also present at conference were residents’ representatives,
teachers’ associations, headmasters and school development associations, the
provincial education department and civic society leaders.
The
following were the central issues raised:
- - It
emerged during the conference that most of the problems encountered in
education in Matabeleland emanated from the Gukurahundi era when schools
in the region were burnt down, and teachers and headmasters murdered or maimed.
During the same period, Matabeleland was sidelined when schools were being
built in other regions in the country. This is why education facilities in
Matabeleland are not as developed as those in other regions.
- - Delegates
at the conference also bemoaned poor policies with regards to education as contributing
to the low standards of education in the region. For example, delegates questioned
what policies allowed teachers who do not speak Ndebele, the main language in
Matabeleland, to teach children at primary level. They said this was negatively
affecting the teaching process as children can only effectively learn if they
are taught in their mother language.
- - Delegates
dismissed the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) as unable to cater for
the needs of vulnerable children due to a combination of corruption and lack of
funds. Residents in particular said that people from stable families were
getting assistance at the expense of poor and vulnerable children due to their influence.
It was proposed that the beneficiaries of BEAM should be made public to ensure
transparency and also that the committees that select beneficiaries should be
set up in a transparent manner.
- - Concerns
were raised that teachers’ incentives a case of abdication of duty on the part
of the government, which employs teachers. They said it was unfair for parents
to be expected to subsidise teachers’ salaries especially because they also do
not have money owing to the country’s rough economic environment. Delegates
argued that the government should improve teacher’s salaries and abolish
incentives adding that they believe that the funds are available.
As
a way forward, academics present, scholars and other delegates proposed public
and private partnerships (PPPs) and partnerships between the government and
faith based organisations and the donor community as means to raise funds to
improve education, especially in the development of infrastructure, teacher
training and curriculum design. It was also argued policies should be put in
place to ensure that children, especially at primary level are taught by people
who understand their mother language, as this is important in the preservation
of cultures. In the same vein, delegates said policies were needed to ensure
that local people benefit from colleges in their regions through quota systems.
Regards
Information
Department
Bulawayo Progressive
Residents Association
Bus.
Tel: +263 9 61196
Cell:
+263 772 516 729
