Comments on: Crisis in education must be unmasked http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/crisis-in-education-must-be-unmasked/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=crisis-in-education-must-be-unmasked Kubatana.net speaks out from Zimbabwe Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:53:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 By: catherine http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/crisis-in-education-must-be-unmasked/#comment-69318 catherine Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:14:40 +0000 http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=345#comment-69318 I am the parent of a daughter who has justed her Grade One. I know that at the school (government) that she went to for the first week of this term before l transferred her to a private school, we were asked to pay Z$60m fees and levies. Then we had to buy everything from exercise books to plastic and khakhi covers, to manila sheets, bond paper and markers for the teachers as well as pencils and crayons and much more. I can tell you the cost of these things exceeded the $60m l paid in fees. On the Tuesday that she stopped going to the government school, there was a meeting scheduled. Items on the agenda included “staff shortage, school fees top-up, support to teachers” as the main items. I can also tell you that in the week that she attended the school, not much learning took place.

I am fortunate that for the time being at least, l am able to afford a private school where learning is taking place (for a fee!). l know a colleague whose daughter is at yet another government school where parents have resorted to supporting their teachers by contributing to “top-up” their salaries and/or buying groceries for them. I am also aware that I do not have any answers but my heart bleeds for every parent who wants their child to have an education but every day they see that hope being squashed.

If it is a revolution, then it has lost its way. It has begun to eat its own children.

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