Zimbabwe to Adopt Phased Free Primary Education Policy

Zimbabwe will adopt a phased free primary education policy starting next year as part of the government’s efforts to ensure education for all, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said.

Mnangagwa made the remarks in his national address during Independence Day celebrations to mark 42 years of political freedom in the second largest city of Bulawayo.

“The schools financing policy will see the equalization of opportunities for higher quality of education for all learners throughout our country, a phased free primary education system will also be settled from 2023,” President Mnangagwa told a cheering crowd.

In addition, Mnangagwa said the government will continue promoting the teaching of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in schools.

“Given that the level of development of a nation is dependent on the teaching and adoption of science, technology and innovation, resources will continue to be channeled towards expanding the availability of the teaching of science and related infrastructure to all the schools and institutions in the country,” he said.

Basic human right
Before independence in 1980, access to education in the country was heavily skewed along racial lines.

Soon after independence, the government sought to correct this by making education a basic human right and changing the constitution to recognize primary and secondary public education as free and compulsory.

The southern African country’s literacy rate soared to over 90 percent, making it one of the highest in Africa.

After the Structural Adjustment Program of 1992, all goods and services were priced at market value and education ceased to be free. As a result, many households have been under increasing economic strain to pay for school fees.

The education system in Zimbabwe encompasses 13 years of compulsory primary and secondary education.

XINHUA/Christopher Ojilere