Teachers leaving Zimbabwe

Telegraph:

Zimbabwe's education system, once regarded as among the best in Africa, is in crisis because of the country's economic meltdown. Almost a quarter of the teachers have quit the country, absenteeism is high, buildings are crumbling and standards plummeting.

In one of the most shocking examples of the Dickensian conditions, a reporter witnessed hundreds of children at Hatcliffe Extension Primary School in Epworth, 12 miles west of Harare, writing in the dust on the floor because they had no exercise books or pencils.

The makeshift huts they use as classrooms are filthy and swarming with insects. Instead of chairs, the children sit on mud bricks which leave red stains on their tattered khaki uniforms. Similar scenes can be found across the country.

"Starting this term, we are supposed to buy our own teaching mat-erials," said a teacher at Warren Park 1 Primary in Harare. "With our paltry salaries I don't see it working. We will just sit in the classes."

At Insimbi Primary School in Gwanda, south-east of Bulawayo, there is one textbook for a class and only half the children have exercise books. The others cannot afford them.

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Conditions at the universities and colleges are just as bad. Fees have skyrocketed, student grants are almost worthless and teaching is almost at a halt. At the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, disused offices and storerooms have been turned into makeshift brothels by students and staff who have turned to prostitution to make ends meet. "What would you do if you were given a paltry Z$2 million (£1.20 at the black market exchange rate) per semester?" said one female student.

During a recent visit to the university, several students showed signs of malnutrition, and conditions in their hostel were squalid. Lavatories were blocked, water flowed down unlit corridors and dustbins overflowed.

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There is more to this depressing story. What is clear is how little the leaders of this forsaken country from their studies, much less their recent experience. Mugabe claims the Brits want to invade, though it is hard to think of why they would want the place after the mess he has made of it. Why would anyone want such a wretched place.