Government Freezes Teacher Recruitment Over Budget
The government has failed to release funds needed to hire 8,000 new teachers, despite approving the recruitment drive earlier this year. The move was meant to ease the growing crisis in Zimbabwe’s education sector, which has been hit hard by underfunding and an exodus of skilled professionals.
Over the past two years, more than 10,000 teachers have reportedly quit their jobs due to poor pay and worsening working conditions. The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) even claimed the number was closer to 15,000. But the government has downplayed that figure, saying only around 5,000 teachers left in 2023.
Government Freezes Teacher Recruitment Over Budget
While government departments acknowledged the skills gap back in May and agreed to recruit 8,000 teachers, Public Service Minister Edgar Moyo told Parliament last week that the Treasury hasn’t released any funding.
He said the posts were approved, but without the money to back them, nothing can happen.
“We regret that some schools and classes are going without teachers,” he admitted, adding that the process depends on Treasury concurrence and funding availability.
“What I may say is that at the beginning of this year, the government approved the employment of 8,000 teachers subject to Treasury concurrence and availability of funding for those costs. Now, as of now, the funding has not been availed, although concurrence was secured. We, however, regret that some schools and some classes are going without teachers, and we are actively working on that,” Moyo said.
Moyo’s remarks angered lawmakers, who questioned why the education sector remains so low on the list of government priorities. But the minister doubled down, explaining that approvals alone aren’t enough — funds must be in place before hiring begins.
“The responsible departments will approve the employment of those teachers, and after the approval of those teachers, then for you to employ them, there has to be Treasury concurrence to say yes, we think we can absorb that responsibility. That is the process. The actual funding must be secured first before you employ, because you want to pay those teachers as soon as they have been employed,” he said.
Teachers Want US$540 Salaries Restored
Meanwhile, PTUZ has escalated the fight. The union sent a delegation to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office after petitioning Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube. They’re demanding that teacher salaries be restored to the pre-October 2018 levels of US$540.
Currently, Zimbabwean teachers earn about US$250 and around ZiG3,000, a wage many say is no longer enough to survive.
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