"Govt Should Prioritise Paying Professionals Well To Stem Brain Drain,” Former Health Minister

Former Health and Child Care minister, Dr Henry Madzorera, has said the Zimbabwean government should prioritise paying professionals well to deal with brain drain. 

His remarks come as the latest statistics from Zimbabwe’s health watchdog show that over 4 000 healthcare workers resigned from public institutions in the year to November — with many thought to have emigrated. Madzorera, an opposition official spoke to AFP:

Government should do the right thing and prioritise paying our professionals well so that we can stem the brain drain.

There are fears that the southern African country will lose more qualified teachers after the British government announced recently that teachers who qualified in Zimbabwe will be eligible to apply directly for “qualified status.”

This will allow successful candidates to go straight into classrooms without further training.

The new policy, which the British government says will boost “opportunities for highly qualified teachers wherever they trained”, will begin in February 2023 and also applies to teachers who qualified in Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

For decades Zimbabwe’s education system was respected as one of the best on the continent, one of the accomplishments of former president Robert Mugabe’s regime.

Poor remuneration has prompted most professionals to leave the country in search of greener pastures. 

In Zimbabwe, teachers can make up to ZW$50 000 ($75) a month, a tiny fraction of what they can hope to earn in Britain, Zimbabwe’s former colonial ruler.

Qualified teachers in England, where the cost of living is significantly higher, are paid at least £2 300 ($2 800) per month according to the Department for Education.

But an analysis by Schools Week, an outlet covering the sector, suggested just 73 per cent of a key recruiting target for new teachers in English secondary schools would be met this year.

The departure of more teachers will likely worsen an already dire situation as there is already a mismatch between the number of teachers and that of learners. The government says that it is at least 25 000 short of the number required.

Previously, authorities have made it more difficult to obtain the necessary paperwork to prove their qualifications in a bid to stem brain drain.

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