HARARE – Teachers’ unions have requested an urgent meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa to “put you into picture of the real situation in the education sector.”
The eight unions say Mnangagwa is badly advised by his ministers about the depth of a job boycott by teachers since schools re-opened on September 28.
The teachers, currently earning basic salaries of about US$70, are demanding United States dollar salaries of at least US$520 or the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent, as well as sector-specific allowances.
Calling on Mnangagwa to prioritise the health and safety of teachers, the unions said “there is not enough Covid-19 abatement equipment in place for teachers such as PPEs and sanitisers.”
Teachers were “frog-marched to re-open schools without testing for Covid-19,” the unions said, adding that they were not aware of any member who had been tested for the virus in readiness for the re-opening of schools.
Zimbabwe has staggered the re-opening of schools since their premature closure in March. Exam-sitting classes re-opened on September 28 and will be joined by Grade 6, Form 3 and Lower Sixth pupils starting next week with the rest of the classes expected to return to school on November 8.
Unions say very little teaching is going on at schools, which has compromised pupils who are sitting their final exams. Teachers want the government to close schools or postpone the exams for at least another term while it attends to their grievances.
“In light of the prevailing situation in the education sector and teachers’ incapacitation, we want to plead with you to intervene and save the education sector from total collapse and capacitate teachers so they can report for duty,” the unions said, calling themselves the United Front of Teacher Unions.
Calling him a “listening president”, the unions pleaded with Mnangagwa to “come to our rescue for the good of current and future generations.”
