95 Zimbabwe Education Facts: What is Their Schooling System Like?

Zimbabwe is situated in South Africa.

Zimbabwe's education system was affected due to inflation. Their education system consists of primary, secondary, and tertiary vocational education and private universities for higher education.

Zimbabwe had made it compulsory for kids to get primary education. Primary education includes grade one to grade seven. In rural areas, the schools teach in Nblese or Shona language. In urban areas, primary schools use the English language when teaching. After grade three, even in rural areas, the primary school curriculum is taught in the English language. A national examination is conducted after secondary school.

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Fun Facts about Zimbabwe's Education

Primary and secondary education is managed by the Cabinet of Zimbabwe. According to the Education Act, compulsory education is protected by law.

An average school in Zimbabwe runs for 40 weeks, from the month of January until December. There are three terms. Each school term has a month's break in it. The new year of school starts from the beginning of the year in January. This is different from the system in some countries, where the academic year starts in September. In some other countries, the academic year even starts in June. Zimbabwe has a total of 13 years of primary and secondary school education. Robert Mugabe declared education universal and free in the year 1980. Zimbabwe had an adult literacy rate of 88% in the year 2014. In 2015, due to economic collapse and a public health crisis, the practice of universal education came to a halt. The rate of children who attend primary school in the country is 93.9%, and the percentage of children who attend secondary schools is 47.2%.

Two years of pre-primary school starts at the age of three. It is called early childhood development (ECD). It is followed by seven years of primary school and then four to six years of secondary school or high school. A GCE or O-level is equal to 11th and 12th standards in Zimbabwe. It is the eighth-most educated country in Africa. The University of Zimbabwe ranks 1481 in the world. It is one of the countries in Africa that speaks the best English. It is in the top 10 rankings. At one point, 61 million children of primary school age, 62 million children of lower secondary school age, and 141 million children of upper secondary school age were out of school due to the country's declining economic conditions.

Facts about Zimbabwe's Education Curriculum

Zimbabwe's education system includes a compulsory core curriculum. Education in Zimbabwe, which is funded by the government, is in primary and secondary schools. University education and vocational education are dealt with as private schools.

The core curriculum consists of basic subjects such as English, Science, and Maths. After children reach their O- levels, there are electives. When they reach their A-levels, there are more specialized courses that they can choose from. It still follows the British Oriental Examination boards system. This system has a series of exams that decide if a student can pursue higher education. This is an exam-oriented education system. Each grade has a final exam at the completion of the school year, and once the student passes the exam, they will be promoted and move on to the next grade. This system is followed through the seven years of primary school. After completion of primary school, a Junior Exam Certificate is obtained by the kids who attended school.

After primary school, education is transferred from local administrators to the Zimbabwe Ministry of Education and Culture. They, in conjunction with the University of Cambridge local examination syndicate, provide different grade exams. These include the O-levels exams (University of Cambridge Ordinary level) and the A-levels exams (University of Cambridge Advanced level). The primary language in secondary school and tertiary school is Engish, while in primary school, it is left up to school authorities. Along with English, one of the two native languages (i.e. Shona or Nblese) is to be compulsorily taught in schools. Kids spent up to 188 days in school on average. The Curriculum Development Unit inside the board of the Ministry of Education and Culture prepares the curriculum. It is a panel of teachers, subject matter experts, and education officers.

Facts about Zimbabwe's Universities

Zimbabwe has seen an increase in tertiary education in the past few years. As the economy was collapsing, many people enrolled in Universities, contrary to what was expected. It was because they realized how important it was to study at higher levels, to get a hold on their futures. This led to an increase in demand for tertiary education, and more universities were built to accommodate students. The universities are broadly divided into technical and teacher training colleges. To date, there are nine publicly funded higher education universities in Zimbabwe. They are the University of Zimbabwe, the Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Lupane State University, Harare Institute of Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Great Zimbabwe University, the Women's University in Africa, Solusi University, and the National University of Science and Technology. The University of Zimbabwe is the top university in the country. Coming close behind is the National University of Science and Technology.

The University of Zimbabwe costs $1,400 to attend. It is situated in Harare. There are a few vocational colleges as well. The Zimbabwe council implemented the national budget and national research by education ministries to implement distance education. There is a huge education division in rural schools and schools owned by the private sector.

Facts About Zimbabwe's Teachers

Like in every country, teachers play an important part in the education of children.

Teachers motivate kids to do better in their endeavors. Inflation took a pretty big hit on the entire country, especially on the schooling system. Despite fewer kids preferring school over daily labor, teachers were affected. The Ministry of Education could not afford full salaries for teachers in primary and secondary schools. These were public schools where education is supposed to be free, but since the government couldn't afford it, they cut the teacher's salaries by 50%. The cost of living was high, and the wages were minimal, so some teachers were forced to leave their jobs and apply for work which gave them higher wages. The Amalgamated Teachers Union of Zimbabwe(ARTUZ) stated that many teachers lived in every poor condition if they decided to work.

This issue has raised many concerns for the government of Zimbabwe, which is not able to provide minimum wages and housing to teachers. This practice has been seen a lot in rural areas. During Covid-19, the government was shown taking measures toward improving education. They provided teachers with knowledge of digital devices. The ARTUZ said it had seen a little improvement in the government since then. The government adhered to the WHO guidelines and closed schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as it is a well-known fact that schools are a hub for this virus.

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