"Urgently Address Teachers' Starvation Salaries" - Union

3 years agoTue, 18 May 2021 16:39:06 GMT

"Urgently Address Teachers' Starvation Salaries" - Union

The President of the Progressive Teachers Union (PTUZ), Dr Takavafira Zhou has called upon the government to urgently address @teachers’ starvation salaries.” We present Zhou’s statement in full below.

Government Must Urgently Address Teachers’ Starvation Salaries
18 May 2021

In a move that defies logic gvt has since the opening of schools ignored calls by teachers to capacitate them so that they can report for work daily. This is quite surprising given the urgency of bringing school operations to normalcy in order to ensure that meaningful learning and teaching ensues in schools. We note with surprise this business as usual lackadaisical approach by gvt officials at a time that declining of pass rates at Grade 7, form 4, and U6th in 2020 point to limited contact time with teachers due to teachers’ incapacitation among many other factors.
A considerable number of teachers were mourning instead of smiling today, as their pay day is a constant reminder of their poverty and misery. More than 20 000 teacher have resigned from the profession since January 2021 out of frustration. This is not enviable, more so give the fact that the teachers’ deficit in schools was already more than 50 000. Worse still, recruitment by the Ministry has been at a low ebb of 3000 per year. The teaching profession is certainly burning and need an urgent address. Incapacitation is real and calls for an urgent intervention if we are to prevent the worst disaster in terms of results for the 2021 academic year.
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As Ptuz, we humbly appeal for a Presidential intervention to save our education from total collapse in 2021. Any delay will have disastrous effects as more and more experienced teachers are living the profession out of frustration, while those remaining have mentally resigned although they may physically report for work twice a week. This is a dangerous situation for the country as our best asset, viz, youths, have no mentors all the time. Their prospects for a better future are increasingly becoming negligible. The basis for better results must be laid down now. Sadly, the majority of Zimbabweans will raise their voices next year when the current Grade 7, form 4 and U6th pupils would get worst results. The time to break the impasse between teachers and PSC is now. It’s either we do it now or else we continue to stand idly by and watch systematic educational vandalism by gvt officials.
We need an educational hygiene now, and the country’s President must ensure that the hygiene must become a reality. Any delay would be disastrous.
As much as the teachers are committed to their work, they are grossly incapacitated. They are doing a lot for this generation by reporting for 2 days per week after getting salaries pegged between $13300 and $23000.
Venceremos
Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)