Teachers Shun Local Schools Due to Housing Shortages

In Hwange, teachers' cottages are in a sad state of affairs forcing educators to seek transfers to better school. Image by Unsplash

BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | JULY 29, 2022

In Hwange, public education is ailing. Lack of adequate housing for teachers is worsening the situation.

HWANGE (The Citizen Bulletin) — Geoffrey Ncube, a teacher at one of the satellite schools in Hwange district, is frustrated a lot.

After graduating with a Diploma in teaching from Hillside Teachers College a year ago, Ncube never expected to sleep in a storeroom because of lack of staff accommodation at his school.

“My first deployment was at a satellite school in the Sidinda area. I actually spent the whole term staying in a classroom storeroom.”
Geoffrey Ncube, a teacher

“I had to plead for a transfer, and was lucky to be transferred to another primary school where I stay in a shabby building. At least, I no longer stay in the storeroom.”

His frustrations are shared by several other teachers in the district.

Teachers are not staying long as they quickly seek transfers to other districts and provinces, parents say, adding that this is contributing to the poor pass rate.

Dickson Mudenda, a parent of a learner at Neshaya Secondary, says this has affected the performances of her child.

“My slow learner child is struggling to cope as she has had many different teachers because the educators are not staying long at the school.”
Dickson Mudenda, a parent

Broken windows covered with plastic, unplastered buildings with cracked walls and roofs mirror the stare of teachers' cottages at most Hwange schools.

Lack of water, electricity and the roaming of wildlife add to the basket of challenges they face in their line of duty.

Classroom with broken windows and firewood inside...Infrastructural development is very low in Hwange. Image by ResearchGate

Hwange District has 93 primary and 37 secondary schools. Of these, there are 10 primary and 13 secondary annex schools.

Hwange District School Inspector, Walter Moyo acknowledged the shortages of accommodation for teachers in the district.

“At some schools, teachers share one big house. There is no privacy, and this affects the teachers so much that they end up seeking transfers,” Moyo says.

He says infrastructural development in the district is very low, with communities also unable to support material and financial support to contribute towards the construction of cottages due to poverty.

“Classrooms and cottages for teachers in Hwange district are mainly constructed through the help of donors. Last year, we saw the completion of 3 classroom blocks constructed by World Vision.”
Walter Moyo, Hwange District School Inspector

The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, Torerai Moyo says his committee recently conducted a tour of schools in the district where they came across the sad state of affairs.

Moyo says the Primary and Secondary Education ministry has a duty to ensure educators stay in conducive environments.

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“There are a number of challenges that are faced by teachers in Hwange district.

“In terms of teacher shortages, we want to appeal to the ministry and also the Public Service Commission to ensure that the recruitment of teachers should be decentralised so that teachers from Hwange teach in Hwange,” Moyo says.

*Edited by Lizwe Sebatha | Fact Checked & Proofread by Melody Mpande | Reviewed & Commissioned by Divine Dube

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