An official date has been set for the yearly exams to start, November 26 and 27. Normally exams begin mid-October, but due to extended deadlines and now figuring out things for the loans and such, they have been pushed back to late October. Parents have been scared with no word of exam dates before now that they would have to continue paying school fees into December. Although, a final date has been set, parents and students are still worried about how long the exams will take since they are starting so late. The national co-ordinator of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe is afraid since it is starting so late students may have to take several exams a day to guarantee the tests are done in time.
Although this is making schools continue longer, which parents may have trouble affording, atleast there is finally an official exam day set. This should provide the students enough time to study and be fully prepared for their exams. And the parents have three months to pay the fees for the exams. Hopefully there is enough time for the students to not have to rush through their exams and possibly hurt their scores.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/local/22011-zimsec-fiasco-exam-dates-out.html
Three students in Harare were arrested for speaking about the 10+ students who had scholarships withdrawn at a University in South Africa. The joint government is not getting rid of laws that Mugabe created that are ancient, like allowing prevention of freedoms, like freedom of speech. These students were arrested for speaking out against the Mugabe’s portion of the government. The unity government is not doing what it needs to, and the 10+ students who are no longer recieving scholarships are being unfairly treated.
Students should be allowed to speak out against the government in a country that has fought for it’s freedom. The unity government is not doing a very good job of being a government. These students deserve freedom of speech, and should be able to talk about the students who unjustly got scholarships removed, especially since the scholarships are not funded by Mugabe, so why are they aligned with ZANU PF? Mugabe needs to give up and remove himself from power.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=6&layout=blog&Itemid=288
The students who did not register for their yearly exams already may have to wait until next year, because some schools have already given their students exams. The schools say re-doing tests for the students who would take exams on loans will be very expensive. There seems to have been no communication that the deadline had been extended and that the schools needed to wait to give the exams.
This is definitely not good. The schools should have waited, the exams weren’t even scheduled to happen yet. And with as big as a deal of only a few students at each school taking their exams was, they should have hoped and assumed something would have been done to help the students who couldn’t afford it. This could be a major setback of what was a very good way to help the students.
http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/oct15_2009.html
UNICEF has been visiting the schools in Zimbabwe the past two weeks. They saw the run-down buildings, absent teachers, few students, and all the other horrible things happening in these schools, which used to be one of the best education systems in Africa. The article says Zimbabwe needs to focus on fixing it’s education problems first, then fix the other problems. UNICEF has spent about $12 million already, helping out schools in Zimbabwe to get books and train teachers and such.
UNICEF seems to just be talking about what everyone who is following the situation already know. This $12 million they’ve already spent is hopefully helping, although there hasn’t been any news of all the children having books, which is what this was partially for. Maybe things aren’t going through quickly. But it’s good that UNICEF is helping and talking about the schools, to get the issue more recognition.
www.unicef.org/media/media_45950.html
The Ministry of Education, Sport, and Culture is giving students a chance for a loan to give them until January 2010 to pay for the yearly exams. The deadline had been moved to October 16th for students who failed to register by the September deadline. The students who cannot afford it can take advantage of this loan, that has parents pay monthly fees to pay it off by January 2010, so they can take the November exams.
This is a great idea! It gives parents the chance to not have to pay all the money at once and lets students still sit their exams. The only worry is that it may not be enough help. Even the monthly fees may be too much for parents to pay, with how poor this country has become. But this is still a step in a very positive direction.
The fees for the yearly exams are too much for 75% of the students scheduled to take them. The Progressive Teacher Union of Zimbabwe’s president wants all students to be allowed to take the exam, but those who haven’t paid the fees will not recieve the results until they pay, so they will still have the chance. The PUTZ president also would like to see the $70 million from UNICEF to help these students.
I would assume if it were possible to have all the students sit the exams without paying yet it would be helpful but that seems impossible. The fees probably help towards printing exams for the students which would make it hard to print enough with not many fees paid. I would like to know where is the help Tsvangirai promised. There cannot be extension, so hopefully Tsvangirai can somehow find the money to help these students.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=23499
Tsvangirai wants education and health focused on first as Zimbabwe tries to build itself back up. But helping everything is difficult due to Western countries not donating money or loans due to distrust of Mugabe, the president.
Tsvangirai seems to be trying so hard to help Zimbabwe, but Mugabe is just in the way. Just like how he refused to step out of power when Tsvangirai won the elections, he’s still being selfish and causing major issues for this country that needs so much help after he ruined it.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=5195
There is a Presidential Scholarship Fund helping poor Zimbabwean students at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. However, ten students were recently expelled from the funding, and another ten are most likely going to meet this ending. The students have been accused of supporting the Movement for Democratic Change, which is against Mugabe, with whom the fund is tied.
It’s very saddening that these kids cannot keep the money, which means they will probably not get a college education, even back in Zimbabwe. I understand they wanted to support what they (and most of the world) believe is right, but they sure picked a bad time to do it. Hopefully some way these students can stay in college.
http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/oct7_2009.html#28
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is going to make sure all students who are supposed to take public exams this year will take them. It’s estimated 40% of the students did not meet the deadline to pay fees, and do not have the money to pay for it.
The Prime Minister is showing that he really cares about the students. Tsvangirai is making sure even the poor students can take their public exams. Someone stepping in and doing something is what the Zimbabwe schools need.
http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/oct3_2009.html
The National Education Advisory Board (NEAB) has reported in Zimbabwe there is a large number of students and teachers not going to school. The teachers are underpaid and afraid, and the students have stopped attending due to lack of teachers. 196,000 children drop out of primary school each year according to the report. If this continues, half of the children currently in school won’t make it to secondary school. The NEAB report also claims that girls are raped at school, and when they aren’t in school they’re more vulnerable to abuse. The report has a few ideas for helping the school system out; as in, bringing the communities together to help pay teachers, having atleast one area per rural primary school to get water, to remove taxes on textbooks so schools can buy them, and making primary education free for all students. UNICEF is working with international donors to give 70 million U.S. dollars to the Zimbabwe education system. They want every child to have a text book within 12 months.
This article is showing just how badly the Zimbabwe school system is failing. Almost no one has text books and girls are getting raped at school. Something serious needs to be done about this issue, before it gets worse. It’s good that UNICEF is stepping in to help, and I hope this money is able to help like it is intended to.
