“My Heart Bleeds for the School Children”

Crynos Mufombori, “My heart bleeds for the school children”

from “Zimbabwe Situation”

March 2009 (IRIN)

When teachers taught

HARARE, Crynos Mufombori, 44, is a senior teacher at a rural secondary school in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland Central Province, in the north of the country. He has made the 190km trip to the ministry of education in the capital, Harare, looking for help, as his school failed to reopen at the beginning of the academic year in January 2009.

“The ministry has made me the caretaker headmaster of the school, because the one who held that position and his deputy last reported for duty in early December last year [2008] and we don’t know where they are. They did not tender their resignations and the headmaster even went away with the keys to his office.

“I have been a teacher for close to 20 years and never before have I been in such a quandary as the one I am facing right now. Since schools officially opened, only five teachers have reported for duty. As soon as they discovered that they were the only ones present, they went back to their homes, leaving me virtually on my own.

“I have tried to trace the others, and the ones I have talked to told me that they were no longer interested in teaching. They are saying they are afraid to return to the schools after being harassed by [ruling party] militias during elections last year.

“Some of them fled the political violence after being accused of being supporters of the opposition, leaving their belongings behind. I have tried to explain to them that the political situation has changed following the formation of an inclusive [power-sharing] government [in February 2009], but they are having none of that.

“I have also received reports that a substantial number of the teachers that used to work at the school have crossed the borders to South Africa and Botswana, where they are now employed or are seeking employment.

“Even when the minister of education set deadlines for absconding teachers to reapply, there have been no responses, leaving me with the only option of scouting for untrained teachers. The provincial education offices and our headquarters used to be inundated with unqualified people seeking temporary employment in the education sector in the past; it seems teaching is being totally shunned now.

“The US$100 vouchers that the government introduced as allowances are failing to attract temporary teachers because they regard it as too low and unsustainable. Worse still, today’s youths are not interested in working in rural areas because of the difficult working conditions.

“Even if I could get all the teachers I want, I don’t think it would be easy to start teaching. Thieves have been capitalizing on the absence of staff at the school, stealing books, stationery and furniture.

“The ministry has told me that there is hardly anything that it can do to rebuild the school because the government has no money for that. To make matters worse, no donors are forthcoming, and parents cannot contribute because they don’t have money and are busy tending their fields.

“My heart bleeds for the hundreds of school children who cannot receive an education now. They have been forced to become farm labourers and, since their parents are too poor, they cannot be transferred to urban or boarding schools where a semblance of learning is taking place. Other schools in the district are experiencing the same problems as mine, meaning that the pupils have no choices at all.”

Ann’s note: We are thankful that Hartzell Primary School is one of the schools that is functioning.