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Masvingo-Teachers have vowed that they are not ready to work as schools open next week saying they are not motivated by poor salaries they earn as government continues to ignore their pleas for decent a increment, a situation that could jeopardize the smooth opening of the annual education calendar.
In a statement, firebrand educators representative, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said teachers are not stirred to teach classes because of the meagre salaries they are paid and are set to stage a sit in to express their frustrations.
“We reiterate that when schools open teachers won’t be ready to teach because of poor salaries. The regime may issue threats as much as they want but the crisis won’t be resolved through threats. All the propaganda from State media won’t mask this ballooning crisis” said ARTUZ President, Obert Masaraure.
ARTUZ said they are demanding salaries to be increased from a meagre US$300 plus some paltry local Zig dollars to US$1 200 a month to meet regional standards so that they can earn a decent living.
Teachers said they are not able to fend for their families and cannot afford to pay school fees for their children especially those at boarding schools due to the paltry salaries they get from government.
Meanwhile Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union in Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), National Executive Council (NEC) met ahead of schools opening to plan for the year at a meeting where they noted with anger that learners are leaving public schools in droves.
ARTUZ noted that parents have resorted to enrolling their children at mushrooming private schools that offer better salaries and allowances to teachers who produce better results compared to under paid government teachers in public schools.
Former group A schools with some of the best infrastructure like one Harare school, only has 8 learners who enrolled for form 1 for 2026 highlighting a major educational crisis.
“Enrolment at the once prestigious school dropped from over 1 200 to just 150. The pattern is the same across all public schools in Zimbabwe” said ARTUZ.
Learners and parents have also lost faith in public schools as they now opt for under resourced private schools despite public schools having big libraries and laboratories which should lure students.
ARTUZ said the government has failed to pay teachers in public schools and there is very limited learning taking place in most public schools. Government has further denied teachers right to collective bargaining and right to strike. This has pushed teachers into silent protest mode. Public school leaders have also not done enough to retain and attract learners” added ARTUZ.
It is ARTUZ firm belief that the public school should thrive to protect national interests. If education is privatized the poor will be excluded and the State may not be able to control what learners consume.
ARTUZ further encouraged the people to join hands and fight for public schools.
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MOPSE) Spokesperson, Taungana Ndoro, laughed off the claims saying “We’ve decided to stop dignifying their seasonal parochial year in year out”
But Artuz warned that government should pay teachers decent salaries to save public schools from total collapse as parents are slowly losing faith in them.
