(Last Updated on April 16, 2021 by GERALD NCUBE)
NORTON – Independent Norton member of parliament Temba Mliswa has said the crisis within the education sector particularly in government schools is far worse than the state of our roads which were recently declared a state of disaster.
In a series of tweets, the former ZANU-PF provincial chairman for Mashonaland West said the government was to blame for the poor state of the country’s government schools.
“The schools are understaffed with a pressing need for 40 000 more teachers and Gvt has done little about it. They are also poorly paid and have largely soldiered on doing their best. The situation is actually beyond the responsible Minister’s ability and the blame is on Gvt.
“The roads, declared a national disaster, are not even that compared to the situation in these government schools. The kids are suffering too due to reduced learning periods and it will be difficult to make up for this lost time,” tweeted Mliswa.
The outspoken legislator recently blasted the current administration for the import restriction on second-hand vehicles older than 10 years saying they should stop making policies that are out of touch with the realities of the people.
Since last year, teachers have caught up in a salary adjustment battle with the employer, demanding that their salaries be reviewed and restored to pre-October 2018 levels where the lowest was paid US$520.
However, the government has refused to bow to the demands arguing that it is not economically feasible to do so at the moment.
As a result, the sector has been negatively affected with teachers recently announcing that they will be reporting for duty three times a week until the employer considers their request.
Students are likely to be the losers in all this with the Covid-19 pandemic also seriously affecting the learning process for the pupils.