The document discusses Zimbabwe's education system between 1980-2009. It notes that primary education enrollment increased from 35% before 1980 to 82% by 2004, though completion rates and performance on exams declined. Resources for education declined sharply from the 1990s, with average spending falling from 22% to 14.2% of the state budget and teachers' salaries dropping to 12.3% of their 1990 value. The document proposes reforms to improve education quality, make curricula more relevant, expand technical/vocational programs, strengthen teacher training, increase funding, and better utilize research and community partnerships.

1. Brooks World Poverty Institute and University of Zimbabwe
Round Table Conference, Harare, 25 – 26 August 2009
Paper by Fay Chung
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2. Primary education free and compulsory
Primary education a basic human right
No discrimination by race, religion and sex
Sec education open to all who can pay fee
Teachers’ housing built in rural areas
Ed as major instrument of socio-economic
transformation
Curriculum reform, uniting 2 disparate
systems and linked to production and
technological change
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3. Cost effectiveness of education
State support for non formal ed and literacy
Early childhood ed supported
Partnership between Gvt, parents,
community and private sector
Special ed, with teachers trained at United
College
Use of mother tongue and 2 main national
languages
English as an international language from
Grade 1
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4. Primary ed for all by early 1980s (35% before)
Innovative sec ed for about 65% of age group
(4% before)
By 2004, 82% at primary, and 34% at sec.
Tertiary enrolment 3.9%
Primary dropouts 37.9%
Completion of Grade 7, 62.1%
64% of Grade 1s had pre-primary ed
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5. SACMEQ study of Grade 6 in 1998, reasonable
classroom furniture
79.7% had a textbook without sharing
40.8% of classrooms required major repairs
Need for additional facilities, e.g. Libraries
(58.2%), staff rooms (30.3%), piped water (37.9%),
boreholes (71.1%), electricity (23.6%), telephone
(33.6%)
95.9% of teacher had 11 years schooling, 77.4%
trained, and 90% school heads professionally
trained
56.4% attained minimal level of English, 37.0%
desirable level of English
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6. Static primary enrolments around 2.4 million
Lower Grade 7 completion rate (70% vs 75%)
30% of 5 – 14 year olds involved in child labour
12 000 street kids in urban areas
Drop in sec ed from 0.827 m in 2001 to 0.774 m
in 2006
“O” levels drop from 159 700 in 200 to 149 263
in 2005
“A” levels increased from 31 505 in 2001 to 56
566 in 2006
Grade 7 results shrinking slightly by 2000, about
15% drop for English and Mathematics
More qualified teachers by 2006
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7. Rural urban differentiation in enrolments
small
Gender differentiation nil at primary, small at
secondary
5 “O” level passes shrank from 23% in 1995
to 14% in 2006
40% failed all subject, 40% passed 1 – 3
subjects
“A” levels continue to improve from 58% in
1990 to 75% in 2006 with 2 Es
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8. Zimbabwe tertiary 3.9% of age group cf to 2.5%
for SSA, 16.8% East Asia, 29.3% Malaysia, 85.4% S
Korea, 57.7% Europe and N America
Enrolments:
◦ University , 9 017 in 1990 to 53 637 in 2006
◦ Agricultural colleges, 667 in 1990 to 173 in 2006 -
◦ Teachers’ colleges stable, 17 802 to 18 297
◦ Technical colleges, 11 683 in 1990 to 19 337 in 2006
◦ Vocational training colleges, 340 in 1990 to 1083 in
2006
◦ Nurses 908 in 1990, figures not available for 2006
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9. University enrolments 62.6% men and 37.4%
women in 2006
Agriculture 65.1% men 34.9% women
Teachers’ colleges 54.2% women 45.8% men
Technical colleges 70.5% men 29.6% women
Vocational colleges 88.3% men 11.7% women
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10. Commerce and business 31%
Arts 27.3%
Agriculture, engineering, medical, science,
veterinary, 26.6% (cf 42% Malaysia and South
Korea) (Engineering, 2.3%; medicine 3.6%; vet
0.4%; science 15.8%)
Social Studies 9%
Education 3.6%
Law 1.8%
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11. Data not analysed and used
Little decentralization of computerization and
analysis
District and regional offices operating at 40%
of establishment
Loss of staff to diaspora
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12. 229 551 enrolled in 2007
More women (55.1%) than men (44.9%)
Little curriculum change since 1980s
No civic education, in particular economic,
social and cultural development
Little or no technical/vocational trainng
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13. Average expenditure 1980s, 22% of State
budget
Average expenditure 2000 – 2006, 14.2% of
State budget
Average staff salary 1990/91, US$4 565;
2008, US$560.73 per annum (12.3% of
1990/91 salary)
Per capita grant 1990/91, US$6.26; 2006,
US$0.18 (2.9% of 1990/91 amount).
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14. 1990/91, 86.7% for primary/secondary;
2008, 69.5% for primary/secondary
1990/91, 13.3% for higher; 2008, 30.5% for
higher
Unit costs 2006 - primary: secondary, 1:1.57
Unit costs 2006– primary: university, 1: 9.67
Administration increases from 8.4% of the
total in 1990/91 to 17.2% in 2008
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15. Weakened state: under staffing and under
financing of education
Strengthening of SADC and other regional
institutions
Diaspora of 2 – 3 million
Growing globalization
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16. 1. 9 years of free, compulsory and quality
basic education
2. Linking education and training to economic
development
◦ More science and tech/vocational
◦ More tech/vocational at secondary level
◦ Key role of agriculture
◦ Increase number of students in agricultural colleges
◦ Increase number of students in technical/vocational
colleges
◦ Need increased enrolments,quality, relevance and
diversity in higher education
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17. ◦ More science, technology and engineering in
tertiary education
◦ More training of doctors, teachers and nurses –
training for region and overseas
3.Education and training for the region
4.Linking education for real life challenges
Prospect of unemployment
Interpersonal relationships
HIV/AIDS
Intergenerational relationships
Working in Zimbabwe, region and overseas
Dealing with conflict, paranoia, intolerance, political polarisation, etc.
Inadequate understanding of economics
Civic education
Environmental care and improvement
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18. 5. Development of values, principles and moral
education
6. Improvement of the quality of education
◦ School construction
◦ School maintenance, furniture and equipment
◦ Pre-primary
◦ Curriculum
◦ Textbooks and teaching/learning materials
◦ Expansion teacher training
◦ Narrow gender gap
◦ Distance education for upgrading/updating
◦ Strengthen inspectorate
◦ Renewal and strengthening ZIMSEC
◦ Renew and increase per capita grants
◦ Provide some free textbooks
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19. 7. Involvement of the community and
decentralization
◦ Decentralize resources to school level
◦ Decentralize supervision to district level
◦ Pro-poor budgeting
◦ School fees exclude the very poor and destitute
8. Non formal education
9. Strengthening policy and strategy
development
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20. 10. Financing of education
◦ Return to 22% of State budget
◦ Realistic teacher salaries
◦ Per capita grant commensurate with costs
◦ Provide for construction, etc.
◦ Better balance between primary, secondary and
tertiary
◦ Focus on pre-primary and non formal
◦ Pro-poor budgeting
◦ Lower administration costs
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21. 11. Donor aid
◦ Pro-poor donor support
◦ Funds reach grass roots
◦ Emphasis on systemic improvement
◦ More technical/vocational/technology
12. Research and development
◦ Link education and training to ec. development
and employment
◦ Utilize data
◦ Better and more monitoring and evaluation
◦ Curriculum research
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22. The State
Private Sector
Parents and Communities
Donors
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23. A – requires little or no additional funding
and immediately implementable. Existing
resources can be better coordinated and
better utilized. Time frame: one year
B – requires moderate funding and can be
implemented quite quickly. Requires some
capacity building and modest additional
funding. Time frame: 3 years
C – requires medium and long term planning.
Innovative and developmental. Requires
substantial additional funding over a long
period. Time frame: 15 years.
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