NEWS AND FEATURES ON THE SOLIDARITY 2000 CAMPAIGN IN COPENHAGEN

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe
No Success In Reducing Marginalisationr

Education Success Under Threat

By Lewis Machipisa

HARARE, Jun 5 (IPS) - During school hours, in the teeming streets of Harare, John -- other streets kids call him "Rasta" because of the dreadlocks he sports -- can be seen guarding and washing cars and inhaling glue.

A high school -year old John is better educated than the six other friends with whom he guards cars in the capital city. ''My father died during my second year in secondary school and so I could not proceed with my education. My uncle said he could not send me to school as he was not working,'' says John.

That was four years ago when he first joined hundreds of school age Youths forced to drop out of school because their parents have died or can't afford to pay the high school fees. John still cherishes his dream of becoming a motor mechanic.

There is an increasing number of youngsters like John in this southern African country, acclaimed worldwide for its education system but where the dreams of further education are dashed on hard economic rocks.

While many children are joining John's ranks, Zimbabwe still basks in past glory of having made great strides toward increasing access to education and improving its quality. Zimbabwe attained this ranking well before it committed itself at the 1995 Copenhagen Social Summit on the need to promote and attain the goals of universal and equitable access to quality education.

Among other countries, Zimbabwe pledged to make particular effort to rectify inequalities relating to social conditions, eradicate poverty, promote full and productive employment and foster regional integration. But Zimbabwe's acclaimed success on education is fast turning into a nightmare.

Although Zimbabwe has achieved one of the highest levels of access among developing countries, due partly to the phenomenal expansion of the education sector, access to secondary education remains a problem in some rural areas.

The problems persists despite the fact that some schools opened after independence are under-utilised. One result is that many urban schools have become congested with children coming from rural areas where parents have lost faith in district council schools whose infrastructure has not improved.' Access to secondary education has also been constrained by the harsh economic climate that has made it difficult or impossible for many low income parents to afford the costs.

''The introduction of Economic Structural Adjustment (ESAP) Programmes (sponsored by the World Bank and IMF) in 1990 and the increasing negative impact of globalisation have undermined the gains that had been achieved,'' says Charles Nherera, a lecturer at Bindura University.

''The negative impact of globalisation on developing countries such as Zimbabwe and the dwindling economies continue to undermine the gains made towards achieving the Copenhagen Summit Commitments,'' says Nherera.

''Economic reform programmes have tended to focus on profitability without due regard to social factors and have in the process led to more poverty for the majority of people in developing countries such as Zimbabwe,'' he says.

When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, it instituted an 'education for all' policy. Primary education was free and school attendance at primary level rose from 819,586 in 1979 to 2,509,153 in 1998. But 15 percent of children of primary school age remained out of school, while a further 21 percent of those who started school , dropped out before completing grade seven and 30 percent of those who completed the primary school cycle do not proceed to secondary education.

At secondary school at which school fees and examination fees are paid, there is marked decrease in female enrolment. The Central Statistical Office (CSO) says this can be attributed to cultural beliefs that make some parents reluctant to send their girl children to higher education preferring to educate the boys.

On the plus side, since the Copenhagen Summit, tertiary education has expanded. From one, there are now eight fully established universities in Zimbabwe. Although education has received the second largest budget allocation in Zimbabwe since independence, real expenditure in education is being eroded by the continuing decline in the value of the Zimbabwe dollar which has lost more than 100 percent of its value since 1997.

While up to 17 percent of public expenditure was spent on education during the mid-1980s, the current levels have fallen back to approximately 14 percent. Yet the levels of Gross National Product (GNP) allocated to education and training in Zimbabwe remain among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

''The change in government policy from quantitative expansion to quality improvement since the mid-1980s coupled with the dwindling financial resources has meant that those areas that were not adequately provided for during the period of rapid expansion in the education sector continue to have limited access,'' says Nherera.

A survey by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in 1997 found that the highest percentage of 6-17 year old children who were out of school were on the large scale commercial farms.

Failure to meet school costs was cited as the major reason why children of all age groups were not in school. Achieving the 1990 World Declaration on Education for All has been elusive. Only some 10 African counties are on track to achieve the education goals they set after the World Conference on Education.

Countries such as Cape Verde, Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa and Zimbabwe have already achieved primary enrolment rates of 90 percent or more, according to UNESCO. Uganda more than doubled its enrolment in two years when it introduced a free education scheme.

And although some 42 million primary-school-age children are out of school in sub-Saharan Africa, at least 17 million more are in school today compared to 1990. One of the principal reasons education budgets suffer in Africa is a crippling foreign debt burden.

No fewer than 30 of the 42 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries are in Africa. Africa's current debt servicing costs $13 billion ( US) a year when all it needs is some $3 billion annually to fund universal primary education. Armed conflict and inflation are other factors robbing education budgets.

UNESCO estimates that up to two-thirds of children are not getting an education in countries where there is armed conflict and civil strife. ''Poverty is the most important single factor explaining failure or inability to meet target goals set by government,'' says UNESCO.