Zimbabwe has long boasted of an education system that produced very high literacy levels and respected academics, not only within Africa but also the rest of the world. The country also witnessed huge strides in the construction of schools following independence in 1980.
But moving to the present, of the total allocated to Primary and Secondary Education in the recent national budget, over 90% was for employment costs, leaving a measly portion for crucial resources (desks, chairs, textbooks) and any capital expenditure. High school drop-out rates, staff turnover and demotivated teachers don’t make things any easier. Based on an audit of schools commissioned by the Government of Zimbabwe in 2015, US$1.2 billion of school development levies were in circulation. Who is tracking how this hard-earned money, which parents continue to pay, is spent?
The education system in Zimbabwe tends to concentrate on outputs instead of outcomes. The primary schools are busy competing to score the highest number of candidates with five units and the top percentage pass rate. Rural schools are focused on building laboratories to ensure the STEM[1] policy[2] can be complied with, driven by fear of losing State support. Another popular strategy is to build a boarding house to boost income. But energy for the e-education revolution is seldom in the School Development Plan – if there is one. Yet this will be increasingly important post-Covid
So, what to do – invest in home e-education systems? See schools as a place to develop social and sporting skills but not academic prowess? Ensure more community involvement in the local school, its leadership and its standards? What roles do and should the private sector, universities, policy think-tanks play in the development of education?
Take the example of Sri Lanka, where investment in education has been, and continues to be, central to their development strategy and a prominent focus of public policy. Four key achievements of this investment in Sri Lanka’s education sector by Government and donors, such as the International Development Association and the World Bank Fund that helps the world’s poorest countries[3], are:
- Improved textbooks and upgrading the curriculum. Curriculum and management reforms incorporate modern technology and teaching methods. There has been greater private sector participation in education, including the development of textbooks and learning materials.
- Strengthened education policy and institutional financing, including public-private partnerships. Policy development is evidence-based; national assessments of learning outcomes are fed back into policy and programme development. Attention is given to fair and transparent resource allocation.
- Building up libraries and librarians, including implementation of a national library policy.
- Establishment and implementation of quality assurance measures.
Post-Covid there will be much to be considered and decided about the future shape and direction of education. During the recent periods of lockdown there has been a significant shift to online learning, with some parents thinking that perhaps this can become permanent. But where does that leave those parents who do not currently have the resources to home-school? Will the majority of pupils in the state system, particularly in rural areas, have ready access to computers and data, let alone electricity, to manage their learning, without input from the State? How will they be able to benefit from technological advances in e-learning and electronic library materials?
What do you think we should be doing? Share your ideas and thoughts.
[1] Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
[2] https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1158241.pdf
[3] https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2018/10/17/four-education-successes-in-sri-lanka
