The average teacher-to-pupil ratio in Zimbabwe’s schools has increased to 1:45 following a government freeze on teacher recruitment, a senior official has confirmed.
The freeze was implemented due to budgetary constraints and the need to manage the civil service wage bill, which takes up a large portion of the national budget.
As a result, classrooms are now more crowded, with the current ratio exceeding recommended education standards.
Speaking in the Senate last week, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Torerai Moyo, revealed that the ministry has requested the creation of 8,000 new teaching posts. However, the Ministry of Finance is yet to approve the recruitment. Said Moyo:
We’re waiting for treasury concurrence. I want to promise the House that any time soon, we are going to embark on the nationwide recruitment of teachers and it will be a decentralised exercise.
The government is doing a lot to address the issue of the teacher-pupil ratio. At the moment, the teacher-pupil ratio stands at 1:45, which I believe is too high.
Here I am talking of average ratio but under normal circumstances the recommended ratio for ECD is 1:20 . For junior primary school, it is 1:30. The same applies for lower secondary. Then for A’ Level, it should be 1:15.
However, Moyo said that vacancies caused by resignations, retirements, or transfers are still being filled as usual.
The Senate was also told that 49,555 pupils dropped out of school in 2024 alone, largely due to ongoing economic difficulties.
More: ZimLive
That’s dreadful. Our children’s education will suffer.