About 1 200 Primary And Secondary Schools Built Since 2017 - MoPSE
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education ) MoPSE) has said 958 primary schools and 236 secondary schools were built between 2017 and 2021, taking the total to 10 147.
MoPSE’s Statistics Report 2021, notes that there were 6 123 primary schools in 2017 with 6 071 of them offering ECD facilities and 2 830 secondary schools.
In 2021, the numbers surged to 7 081 primary schools, 7 057 of which offered ECD. A total of 17 had boarding facilities while 3 066 were secondary schools, with 61 being boarding schools. In comparison, there were 2 401 primary schools and 177 secondary schools in Zimbabwe, taking the tally to 2 578. Reads the report seen by The Herald:
Although there was a progressive increase in the number of ECDs, primary and secondary schools, (from 2017 to 2021), the percentage increases did not follow a similar pattern. Between 2017 and 2019 there were some year-on-year percentage increases in ECDs and primary schools. In contrast, secondary schools had a suppressed percentage increase in 2018.
Year 2019 had the highest percent increases for the three levels, with a percentage increase of 6,49 percent for ECDs, 6,09 percent for primary schools, and 2,89 percent for secondary schools.
Schools in Zimbabwe are categorised as registered, unregistered, or satellite.
i). 75.26 per cent of Primary schools are registered,
ii). 9.39 per cent are unregistered and
iii). 15.35 per cent are satellite schools.
iv). At least 68.17 per cent of secondary schools are registered
v). 3.26 per cent are unregistered,
vi). 28.57 per cent constitute satellite schools.
In addition, schools in the country are considered as Government or non-government, and further categorised in terms of the responsible authorities. Most of the schools, totalling 5 322 primary and 2 185 secondary schools, are run by the Government through line ministries, city councils, district councils, and town boards.
Schools run by churches/missions, mines, private companies, farms, trusts and private individuals, among others, are classified as non-governmental.
The MoPSE 2021 report also notes that 72.98 per cent of primary school learners are enrolled in rural schools, while 27.02 per cent are in urban schools.
To date, there are 17 937 ECD teachers, 80 175 primary school teachers, and 48 740 secondary school teachers, taking the tally to 146 852, adds the report.
