Teachers have welcomed the move by the government to lift the ban on paid extra lessons ahead of the August holidays.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, 17 July, the Permanent Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education, Moses Mhike, said that vacation lessons will take place from 19 to 30 August.
Fees have been pegged at US$2 per learning area (subject) for Grade Seven learners, US$3 per O-Level subject and US$5 per A-Level subject for the whole duration.
However, boarding students will be charged an additional US$4 daily, over and above the established fees.
Mhike said teachers should receive a 50 per cent appreciation fee, with 20 per cent allocated to administration and 30 per cent designated for utilities and stationery.
In an interview with The Herald following the announcement, Sifiso Ndlovu, the chief executive of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA), said:
As long as our competency measurement is based on examinations, and even more so now that examinations account for 80 per cent of the assessment, the need for extra tuition will always be prevalent.
We welcome this development, as it is what most educators, who want to see their learners pass and excel, love to see.
We must reasonably focus on assisting learners to achieve their utmost best, rather than viewing it as a money-spinning venture.
It is simply an assistance to help learners gain as much competency as possible in preparation for an examination that determines their future pathways.
Zimbabwe National School Heads Union Secretary General Munyaradzi Majoni commended the government for the move but expressed reservations about the criteria used to determine the fees, questioning the methodology behind the pricing structure Said Majoni:
Fundamentally, the idea of holiday lessons for candidates is an issue that we, as unions, have been pushing for, and the fact that the Government has accepted and given the green light to schools to conduct these holiday lessons, we take that as a positive thing.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure also welcome the move by the government. He wrote on X:
We welcome the authorization of vacation school. Pegging a uniform fee and formalising teacher incentives is on point.
We urge the government to release grants to schools to cater for the fees. Most parents won’t afford the fees because of the drought. US$10,660,550 will cater for all candidates.
Several years ago, the government banned the practice of teachers providing extra paid lessons outside of regular school hours.
This followed concerns that teachers were neglecting their official duties during the normal school day and only teaching those students whose parents could afford the additional fees.
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