ZIMSEC "Shortchanges" Examination Markers
Unions representing teachers accuse the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) of taking teachers for granted after it paid script markers when their payouts had been eroded by inflation.
ZIMSEC recently paid examiners their dues for marking the 2021 Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations even though they signed the contracts in February.
An examiner who spoke to NewsDay and asked not to be identified accused the Government of deliberately delaying paying them. Said the examiner:
Government no longer cares and doesn’t respect us anymore. This is not what we signed up for. When we signed this contract, we were supposed to get US$140, but now, we can’t even afford (anything).
They just want to see us suffering. It’s now more than seven months since we signed these contracts.
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Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure said that in future, teachers should sign time-bound contracts with ZIMSEC. Said Masaraure:
These salaries are a mockery of the hard work that has been put in by our teachers who were marking O and A Level examinations.
When they signed this contract, they were expecting to be paid around US$140, but now, they get something which is equivalent to US$55.
This is deliberate from Zimsec and the government. This is regrettable and in future, teachers may choose not to participate in this process.
We urge teachers that in future, they should sign time-bound contracts. They are able to sue them.
Educators Union of Zimbabwe vice-president Tapedza Zhou also claimed that ZIMSEC and the Government deliberately delayed paying exam markers to ensure that the money loses value. Zhou said:
It is disgusting. We are not happy about the salary. It shows how Zimsec and the government are not serious about teachers’ welfare.
We are saying that after work, we deserve to be paid, and they deliberately postponed paying these teachers because they know that after a certain period of time, that money will lose value.
In a tweet, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said the amounts being paid to examiners are shocking. It said:
ZIMSEC finally paid O and A Level markers their dues, about $33 000. When they signed their contracts in February, that was worth US$135.
Today, it’s US$55. Both figures induce a sense of shock. Has the profession fallen from grace this much?
