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| author/source:SW Radio Africa |
| published:Fri 5-Sep-2008 |
| posted on this site:Sun 7-Sep-2008 |
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| Article Type : News |
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| "Simply too expensive for them to go to the bank" |
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By Violet Gonda
Several boarding schools have been forced to send students back home because of the continuing teachers’ strike. Teachers embarked on a ‘work boycott’ when schools opened on Tuesday, demanding salary increases that are commensurate with the hyper-inflationary environment. As a result of the unstable Zimbabwean dollar, the teachers are asking for a salary equivalent to US$800. Some have said this is too high and is not likely to be met by the bankrupt Mugabe regime. On Thursday authorities suggested an increase from 3044% to about 7000% for the July salaries. However, Takavafira Zhou, President of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe described this as ‘pathetic,’ saying teachers are ‘simmering in poverty,’ and the increase is ‘simply not enough.’ He added: “The tragic situation is that they (authorities) are interested in percentages but not looking at the basic salary. So when the basic salary is defective, even if you bring in a million percent, it remains a problem.”
He said the educational system is under serious threat as more and more teachers are leaving the country because of the economic crisis. Many teachers, especially those working in the rural areas, failed to collect their July and August salaries because it was simply too expensive for them to go to the bank. The average teacher earned Z$1.6 trillion in July, but the transport cost to travel to the bank was Z$8 trillion for a return ticket. The PTUZ President said 8 000 teachers left Zimbabwe last year, and so far this year 25 000 have gone. Zhou said Zimbabwe should have a complement of about 150 000 teachers by now, but because of the economic and political hardships there were now less than 70 000. He said the brain drain is affecting the education system and the children are bearing the brunt of this. According to the teachers union, the pass rate in the mid 1990s was more than 72% but last year it went down to 12%. As the situation worsens the teachers are calling for a speedy conclusion to the inter-party talks, because their problems emanate from the political crisis.
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