18
EDUCATION
The Southern Cross, May 12 to May 18, 2010
Lack of funding and political instability hamper Catholic schools in Zimbabwe During a visit to Zimbabwean Catholic schools, an international delegation discovered that a lot still has to be done to bring Catholic schools to the forefront of education. MARK POTTERTON formed part of the delegation that visited the country.
A
N INTERNATIONAL delegation led by the Johannesburg-based Catholic Institute of Education, has visited Zimbabwe to conduct a thorough check on the state of the country’s Catholic schools. The group met with representatives of the Zimbabwean Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s Education Commission, diocesan Catholic education secretaries and religious congregational leaders involved in education, as well as with the principals of some schools. Four schools in the country’s capital and Bulawayo were visited. The visit was to establish what was happening with school reconstruction during the ongoing political and economic instability in the country, and to establish the best way to support schools in the region. At a meeting with representatives from the Jesuit, Dominican and Precious Blood education desks, common concerns were identified. These included: • a lack of transport to visit
schools for support purposes; • no dedicated budget to support schools; • a lack of facilities in their own offices for greater communication and interaction; • limited time to allocate to their secretarial duties; • a shortage of qualified teachers; • the migration of teachers to other countries; • a lack of stationery for both teachers and pupils; • a chronic shortage of books and textbooks; • a shortage of teacher housing; • a shortage of classroom furniture and aging infrastructure. Despite all these difficulties, the secretaries reported that the schools still managed to function and perform better than their public school counterparts. But “incentives” were identified as a problem in some dioceses as some teachers sought out schools with higher benefits, this resulting in teacher migration. In Harare, Fr Joe Arimaso provided an analysis of the current problems facing Catholic schools. He said the crisis can be traced to the Zimbabwean government’s land invasion policies, with the takeover of farms and subsequent persecution of teachers. He also said hyper-inflation caused by a collapsed economy had forced many qualified people, including teachers, to leave the country and seek better opportunities elsewhere. The issues raised in discussions in Bulawayo were similar to those
Urgent transformation needs to take place in Zimbabwean Catholic schools. raised in Harare. Participants, however, felt that it was important for schools to offer hope in a politically turbulent and economically unstable situation. Emphasis was placed on teachers to teach in the face of unrest and strikes in the country. During the meeting stakeholders concluded that interventions needed to take place on three levels: on a moral, a structural and a crisis management level. During the visit to Zimbabwe, deligates summarised several key issues concerning Zimbabwean Catholic schools. • Service delivery: catholic schools—boarding or day schools—remain the pillars of edu-
cation provision in Zimbabwe with widespread coverage throughout the country. The Catholic Church has some of the oldest boarding schools, which still live up to high quality education. • Outputs: the Catholic boarding schools are renowned for their Christian ethos and sound discipline; and schools like Nyanga High School have always been benchmarks of high education standards in Zimbabwe. • Infrastructure: with some of the best Italian-style architecture that blended in with local situation, some of the school structures stood firm and robust, and were well maintained by the multiskilled expatriate priests and nuns
from different religious orders. There are clear signs of years of neglect, and lack of maintenance, reflecting the situation in Zimbabwe. A lot of the infrastructure lies unused because of a lack of maintenance funds. • Cathholic schools are grappling with securing visionary principals that can steer the schools to relive their past glory. Such principals would be able to fundraise, maintain the infrastructure and provide a better quality service. It would be prudent for the Catholic schools to invest in leadership development. • Mission schools versus new schools: there would be no hesitation to recommend that the Catholic mission schools receive priority assistance above the newer schools because mission schools are pacesetters and should first be pulled out of the current crises. • Centres of excellence: Catholic mission schools can be developed into centres of excellence. • Critical areas of need: schools need classroom materials and equipment that will enhance teaching and learning and this should be complemented by school based-training. School management development sessions should be considered as critical areas of need for input. Resourcing the schools will shape a new culture of learning and teaching that will cater for the variety of learning styles and learner abilities.
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Grade 00 – 12 Education for Boys & Girls Small Classes (18 – 25) Christian Based Education High Moral Standards Excellent Academic Standards Art, Choir, Sports Languages, Science, Technology, Mathematics • Caring Teachers • Competitive Fees • All Round Development of your Child
As a Catholic school we endorse a Christian-based ethos and value system in which learners are expected to show respect for God, self, others and the school. Our assemblies have a Christian theme and Mass is celebrated regularly. In addition, Religious Education is part of the school’s academic programme. The learners are encouraged to participate in outreach programmes to the needy and less privileged members of the community.
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