Schools and teachers across the country have defied a recent government ban on holiday lessons for learners.
On 30 March, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education announced a ban on holiday lessons, saying learners needed time to rest.
The Ministry also argued that the 2023 school calendar was never interrupted by COVID-19 hence there was no need for schools and teachers to conduct extra lessons during this April holiday.
One teacher who takes children for extra lessons in her Emganwini home in Bulawayo told ZimLive that she charged her primary school learners US$5 per week. The teacher said:
Most of the students here are from my class at the school that I teach.
I charge a minimum fee for my services and this complements my monthly income.
The extra lessons also help students, especially those who are lagging behind in class to catch up.
Some high school boarding teachers are reportedly renting buildings in the central business district to conduct extra lessons and charging US$10 per subject.
However, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) is against the milking of parents by teachers through extra lessons.
ARTUZ spokesperson Thembakuye Moyo told ZimLive that despite the financial challenges faced by teachers, the union does not recommend extra lessons as a means of making money. Moyo said:
As ARTUZ, we are a pro-poor union, a union that is biased towards the masses.
We have always been clear that teachers are paid by the government. No parent or guardian should pay a teacher for extra lessons.
Some of the reasons why teachers could be conducting extra lessons could be that they are hungry and at the same time, learners are performing badly.
Some teachers could genuinely be doing this as a means of trying to improve their students’ results.
While the government has declared that paid extra lessons were illegal, teachers are among the lowest-paid civil servants and extra lessons will most likely not go away any time soon as the impoverished educators try to make ends meet.
More: Pindula News