Zimbabwe Education Review

Zimbabwe education is essentially modelled around the British education system. It is managed and administered by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture. In fact the history of Zimbabwe shows that at independence in 1980 the new government of Zimbabwe led by Robert Mugabe inherited the British approach to education.

Education in Zimbabwe starts with primary school Grade 1 to Grade 7. At Grade 7 pupils write national exit exams at the end of 7 years which take them to the next cycle of academic learning known as secondary school. This comprises of Form 1 to Form 4 which are four years of intermediate learning. The next level of academic learning is called advanced level learning. This comprises of two years of advanced secondary level learning of Form 5 and Form 6. This level is optional but many students aim to go through it for greater future opportunities.

Students who advance to Form 5 and 6 will write a national compulsory exist exam which will eventually lead to first year at University. Some companies recruit advanced level students to train them for what are known as accounting articles.

The government of Zimbabwe recognised level of education in Ordinary level achieved after four years (form 1 to Form 4) of secondary school learning. Students must earn what are known as 5 ordinary level subject passes which must be inclusive of English language in order to participate in vocational training or even seek formal employment.

This thorough approach to education earned Zimbabwe education the title of one of the best in the world. After political independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe government continued with a policy of building schools and training more teachers to ensure as many Zimbabweans as possible deprived of learning during the liberation era would get an opportunity for education in Zimbabwe.

Sadly the Zimbabwe crisis which began in 2000 for the following 10 years ripped apart the legacy of Zimbabwe education the country had carefully built in the past 20 years of nation building. Most teachers deserted schools for greener pastures and government funding for public schools dropped sharply at the back-drop of the falling Zimbabwe currency and deteriorating economy.

Largely thought to be as a result of anti-imperialism strategies, the Zimbabwe government disbanded the internationally recognised Cambridge examinations that had made so much room for Zimbabweans abroad in favour of the locally administered Zimsec ( Zimbabwe School Examination Council). Zimsec has been a disaster. From mixing student results to entirely losing them not to mention the repeated delays and confusion and leaks in examination papers.

Consequently, most students in Zimbabwe today opt for privately sponsored Cambridge examination sitting. These have however become expensive as the government no-longer subsidises them as was the case before. In general mny donors have taken interest in supporting Zimbabwe's public education since 2009. Some of the donors have included UNICEF giving up to 42 million Pounds to increase access to education.

Private schools are rife in the Zimbabwe education sector as parents create an ongoing demand for them running away from poorly funded and managed public schools administered by the government. The Zimbabwe International School is amongst the favorites for well to do Zimbabwean parents. Even though the concept behind it is to create an educational environment that will be compatible with changing environments for diplomats, many Zimbabweans are now opting for the international school.

Zimbabwe education especially public schools will certainly take much longer to recover than initially anticipated. Without external support the teachers in public schools will remain largely demotivated at US$175 or less monthly salary hardly enough to live by. The Zimsec administered certificates are proving very difficult for students to present in overseas Universities.

The near collapse of the University of Zimbabwe also deprived many young people a chance to attend University. Consequently, thousands of Zimbabweans have found university places to study in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

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