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ROHR Zimbabwe is highly concerned with the revelation that three quarters of the 300 000 students set to sit for the landmark ordinary level certificate this November are on the verge of having the four years they invested in preparations and resources put to waste as the examination fees being charged by Zimbabwe Examination Schools Council (ZIMSEC) are beyond the reach of the majority of parents.
We also note with concern that the future of education in Zimbabwe which was once the best in Africa, remains in doubt as the sector is plagued by poor remuneration of workers, mismanagement, shortage of qualified personnel due to the brain drain of qualified workforce to other regional markets, exorbitant school fees structures which have forcible denied students access, deteriorating learning and teaching conditions and other economic challenges.
Government has slept over a back foot reliance on international donors and is now failing to accord the education sector the priority it deserves as the right to education is slowly being relegated to a preserve of the elite.
Government stands to be reminded that education is a basic fundamental human right upon which the next generation’s foundation should be premised. Despite the economic challenges affecting the country, it remains government’s responsibility and prerogative to step up to the challenges besieging the education sector and ensure that the right to education is not denied on the grounds of discriminating against levels of income.
We hold that the extension of the deadline for the payment of the ordinary and advanced level examination is in itself not the solution to the problem but it only serves to prolong it. No student should be barred from sitting for the examinations on the grounds of failing to pay examination fees.
Government has a few days to address the recent strike by ZIMSEC workers, a body responsible for the administering of examinations, in time for examinations scheduled to start in a few weeks. The ministry’s decision to determine a friendly examination fees structure should be more realistic, practical and take into account all the varying issues that parents in different life circles find themselves in especially the plight of a sizeable number of parents working on farms across the country earning below the poverty datum line.
It should also be taken into consideration that most parents are among the 95% unemployed who find it difficult to raise at least US $ 60 for a child to sit for a minimum of six subjects. More so, the introduction of foreign currency has been a challenge especially to the majority of parents residing in the rural areas who depend on subsistence farming as they find themselves battling with money to procure farming inputs. Their plight has also been compounded by the deteriorating rainfall patterns in the last decade.
Staying in line with the Millennium Development Goals of achieving universal primary education, the ministry of education should ensure that the right to education remains equally spread without discrimination on gender against the girl child.
From the information Department of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe
For Peace, Justice and Freedom
We also note with concern that the future of education in Zimbabwe which was once the best in Africa, remains in doubt as the sector is plagued by poor remuneration of workers, mismanagement, shortage of qualified personnel due to the brain drain of qualified workforce to other regional markets, exorbitant school fees structures which have forcible denied students access, deteriorating learning and teaching conditions and other economic challenges.
Government has slept over a back foot reliance on international donors and is now failing to accord the education sector the priority it deserves as the right to education is slowly being relegated to a preserve of the elite.
Government stands to be reminded that education is a basic fundamental human right upon which the next generation’s foundation should be premised. Despite the economic challenges affecting the country, it remains government’s responsibility and prerogative to step up to the challenges besieging the education sector and ensure that the right to education is not denied on the grounds of discriminating against levels of income.
We hold that the extension of the deadline for the payment of the ordinary and advanced level examination is in itself not the solution to the problem but it only serves to prolong it. No student should be barred from sitting for the examinations on the grounds of failing to pay examination fees.
Government has a few days to address the recent strike by ZIMSEC workers, a body responsible for the administering of examinations, in time for examinations scheduled to start in a few weeks. The ministry’s decision to determine a friendly examination fees structure should be more realistic, practical and take into account all the varying issues that parents in different life circles find themselves in especially the plight of a sizeable number of parents working on farms across the country earning below the poverty datum line.
It should also be taken into consideration that most parents are among the 95% unemployed who find it difficult to raise at least US $ 60 for a child to sit for a minimum of six subjects. More so, the introduction of foreign currency has been a challenge especially to the majority of parents residing in the rural areas who depend on subsistence farming as they find themselves battling with money to procure farming inputs. Their plight has also been compounded by the deteriorating rainfall patterns in the last decade.
Staying in line with the Millennium Development Goals of achieving universal primary education, the ministry of education should ensure that the right to education remains equally spread without discrimination on gender against the girl child.
From the information Department of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe
For Peace, Justice and Freedom
