ZIMBABWE’S education system is bleeding.
According to the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz), more than 1 200 teachers are quitting every month.
At the heart of this mass exodus are meagre salaries, poor working conditions, unbearable workloads, and a broken teacher-pupil ratio.
The profession that once shaped the nation’s future has become a dead end.
The Public Service Commission’s freeze on recruitment has worsened the crisis.
Teachers are overwhelmed, classrooms are overcrowded and learning standards are plummeting.
At the same time, government has failed to fund the Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam) — a government programme designed to support orphaned and vulnerable children with access to education — leaving thousands of vulnerable children out of school.
The social costs — child labour, drug abuse, early marriages — are already visible.
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Bulls to charge into Zimbabwe gold stocks
- Ndiraya concerned as goals dry up
- Letters: How solar power is transforming African farms
Keep Reading
This is no longer a labour issue. It is a national emergency.
Unless government urgently restores dignity to teaching through better salaries, lifts the recruitment freeze, funds Beam and engages unions in genuine dialogue, the country risks losing an entire generation.
Education is the foundation of progress. Without decisive action, Zimbabwe’s tomorrow will be built on quicksand.
Educators say they are burnt out and disillusioned.
Once the pride of Africa, Zimbabwe’s education system is now on the brink of collapse.
And once considered a noble calling, teaching is now a thankless job where professionals can no longer see a future.
Threats of collective job action have lost their sting, with government seemingly immune to the plight of its own workforce.
This haemorrhaging of talent could not have come at a worse time.
Pupils are left crammed in overcrowded classrooms, often with one exhausted teacher handling more than 70 learners.
The quality of education is being sacrificed at the altar of neglect.
Without the Beam safety net, thousands of learners are dropping out.
A generation is at risk of being lost.
Government cannot continue to turn a blind eye.
This is not just a labour dispute; it is a national emergency. Concrete steps must be taken:
Review teachers' salaries and conditions of service to restore dignity and retain skilled professionals.
Unfreeze recruitment to ease workloads and normalise the teacher-pupil ratio.
Adequately fund Beam to guarantee every child access to education.
Open dialogue with teacher unions to craft sustainable solutions instead of dismissing their concerns.
Education is the cornerstone of national development.
When teachers walk away from the classroom and pupils walk away from school, the country’s future is in jeopardy.
Zimbabwe cannot afford to mortgage its tomorrow through inaction today.
