Parliamentary committee cites schools in Zimbabwe have shortfall of 20,000 teachers

Schools in entire Zimbabwe have a teacher shortfall of 20,000. The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare says government plans to build more schools should be accompanied by the unfreezing of teaching posts.

"Whilst the government is planning to increase the number of schools, the country is currently facing teacher shortages of around 20,000. The construction of more schools will further increase the demand for teachers," said EmmaNcube of Zanu PF, presenting the committee recently report.

The committee recommended that the government "hires sufficient qualified teachers to fill all vacancies so that schools are manned by properly trained personnel to enhance effective education."

The cash-squeezed government has suspended the recruitment of teachers, leaving thousands unemployed after graduating. Finance Minister of Zimbabwe, Mthuli Ncube is battling to keep a lid on employment costs which take up more than 90 percent of the national budget, Zimlive noted.

The plight of unemployed teachers was top of the agenda when President Emmerson Mnangagwa met union leaders from the Progressive Teachers Union in Harare on December 22.

"We believe that the government is not being sincere, that it can't employ teachers. It has employed nurses who were unemployed after they went on strike early this year; we don't have to strike for that to happen," PTUZ's Takavafira Zhou said after the meeting with Emmerson Mnangagwa.