'No lessons as schools open' ran one of this week’s headlines in the state-owned Herald newspaper published in the capital city Harare. Why?  Because when the first term began on Tuesday, most teachers who reported for duty insisted that they will only conduct lessons after getting formal communication on how much they will be earning.

“Although we really feel for the teachers and civil servants because of their paltry salaries, we are extremely happy that schools’ opening this time around has been a great pleasure, unlike in the past few years when we couldn’t even buy anything since shops were empty. Although most people still cannot afford school fees and levies ranging between USD100 -400 with their monthly salaries averaging USD 150,  most things are improving,” said Margaret Mankola, a mother of four school going children.

Uniforms, stationery now affordable
Before the Zimbabwean dollar was replaced by multi-currencies including the American dollar, South African Rand and Botswana pula basic school essentials like uniforms, books, groceries and stationery were hard to come by. But nowadays with only a few dollars, you can get dozens of exercise books, a boxful of pens, pencils, rulers, covers, chalk, a decent calculator and other school necessities.

Children attending most government schools have so far spent their time in playgrounds while teachers while up their time in staff rooms or at car parks storytelling or buying and selling some cheap clothes and household goods brought by their enterprising colleagues who undergo shopping sprees in China and Dubai. Despite low salaries teachers are tempted to buy on credit and pay in installments.

Said Noma, a pupil in her last grade at primary school in second capital Bulawayo: “Since we opened schools we have not had a single lesson. Some teachers came back from holiday but don’t teach while others have not shown up at all. It’s a do-as-you-like show and most school property is being damaged since there is no control and order at our school.”

Private schools, colleges thriving
It’s back to serious business at most private schools and colleges, which charge higher fees and levies, since lessons are already in full swing. Despite the education ministry eager to interfere by imposing controls, teachers there get lots of incentives from parents’ bodies and are therefore motivated to teach.

This has irked the wrath of rural parents and teachers who cannot afford forex-based incentives who bitterly complain: “We are failing to raise school fees so where does one think extra money to pay teachers would come from? It is government’s sole responsibility to pay teachers not communal farmers like us.”

Local exams shunned
With education taking so long to shape up in Zimbabwe following many years of ruin, there is a danger that even our qualifications will now be ranked lowly. Many high schools are slowly abandoning the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (ZIMSEC’s) certification because of mismanagement and mistrust of the examination process.

So many students now prefer to go back to school in order to sit for the reputable UK-based Cambridge local examinations syndicate papers.

As sunken first - class educational standards remain so hard to revive, some loud – mouthed politicians continue to shout “Zimbabwe will never be a colony again,” while sending their own children abroad on underpublicized state scholarships.