Zimbabwe could lose more qualified teachers to brain drain in the coming months after Britain said it will start recruiting teachers from the country and three other African nations.
Zimbabwean teachers are eligible for a qualified teacher status (QTS) in the United Kingdom with effect from 1 February 2023.
Qualified teacher status is a confirmation that one has the right training and meets the standards required to teach in most primary and secondary schools in England.
Local unions representing teachers on Wednesday warned that the country could face a mass exodus of teachers in the coming months.
Progressive Teachers Union Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said:
There are calls for teachers even in the southern African region countries such as Botswana and South Africa, among others.
This year alone, we have 15 teachers who have formally bid farewell to us, not talking of those who are silently packing their bags.
Teachers have also been captured by UK job vacancies. It is a sad story. Elderly teachers should be enjoying the fruit of their work in Zimbabwe, but they are going to other countries to work there.
We are suffering a serious brain drain in the country that will affect starting this year and beyond.
Zimbabwe National Union of School Heads secretary-general Munyaradzi Majoni said:
It is not surprising that we will see a massive exodus of teachers, even school heads and their deputies this coming year.
Teachers have been calling for better wages and the stampede to apply for the UK and other countries’ vacant posts is a cause of concern.
This is a wake-up call for the government, which should act with urgency to improve the conditions of service and retain the teachers.
Thousands of teachers have reportedly formed groups on social media where they share and access information on the opportunities since the UK announced that it will be recruiting teachers from Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean teachers and other civil servants have been pushing the government to be paid pre-October 2018 salaries of at least US$540, but the government says it doesn’t have the money. | NewsDay