Gvt Promises Free State Funded Education Policy

Zimbabwean News You Can Trust.

Primary and secondary education minister Evelyn Ndlovu has said the government is still finalizing the implementation of a free State funded education policy.

In 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa first made “a free education for all next year” promise in reference to 2019.

In 2020, Mnangagwa signed into law the Education Amendment Act, which compels government to provide free basic education, but is yet to be implemented.

Speaking during a high-level policy dialogue on education funding in Harare Wednesday, Ndlovu said the government is currently catering for vulnerable children and still working to ensure every child gets access to free education.

“In 2020, our President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced to the nation the introduction of state funded education, which will take various approaches. We are examining those approaches that we need to put the funded education in phases, and we are proposing policy implementation strategies that we need to start probably with rural schools where poverty is, then we gradually move to other parts of the country.

“We are finalising our policy to make sure we look at our budget and see how we can move funds to make sure that this year we move away from just funding those that are vulnerable to include those who are in satellite and rural schools,” Ndlovu said.

Ndlovu also pleaded with parents and education sponsors to look for resources and compliment the government’s efforts.

“We expect parents to also pay levies to assist the government because it is difficult for us, the population is big, 6.6 million children you can imagine, it is a big figure for us,” she said.

Ndlovu also said the government is also going to increase the number of teachers in schools by 7000 through the education 2023 budget.

Despite the government’s promise to provide state funded education policy, the MDC T, leader Douglas Mwonzora, told his supporters on a by- election campaign last year in Highfields that free education will be there if MDC is elected into power.