SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe says it hopes the new education minister will use the experience he gained during his time as deputy minister to improve the sector. Lazarus Dokora, who was deputy education minister in the last government, was elevated to the helm of the ministry by President Robert Mugabe Tuesday. Dokora replaces outgoing minister David Coltart, who was regarded as one of the most hardworking ministers in the last cabinet and a man who managed to keep the education sector afloat despite a serious lack of resources and government support. Speaking to SW Radio Africa Wednesday, PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said unions had no choice but to work with who ever had been appointed. “Whether we like it or not, criticise, approve or salute, nothing will change. So as far as we are concerned we have worked with Dokora as deputy minister and we hope that he will use the experience he has garnered over the years for the benefit of the education sector.” Majongwe said unions will be expecting the new minister to focus on reviving the country’s education system, including improving the conditions of service, security, and salaries for teachers.“We want infrastructural development to take centre stage and then we can move forward as a country,” said Majongwe. Earlier this week, unions expressed concern after it emerged that some schools, especially those in rural areas, had still not opened due to a shortage of teachers. Majongwe said he hoped that the new minister will move swiftly to address staffing issues so that students can attend classes normally. The recruitment of teachers was last month moved to the Civil Service Commission, and Majongwe said this was a positive development. “There was a lot of abuse of the system particularly by education officers. We were having female teachers and jobseekers being abused and there was generally a lot of corruption so this is a good thing for us,” he said.