The effects of teacher incentives on education in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Upon independence the Government of Zimbabwe recognised the central role played by education in any society in improving the lives of citizens. The government profoundly invested in the provision of education for its citizens through payment of teacher’s salaries. Zimbabwe's education system, once the most excellent in Africa, faced enormous challenges during the peak of the economic and political crises in 2008/2009. In view of the fact that education is an essential base for a child’s bright future, parents who had the resources arranged with teachers to privately teach their children. During this period the provision of incentives was a splendid idea meant to cushion teachers from the hyper-inflationary environment the country was facing in a bid to avoid strikes, which would affect children’s learning. The Ministry of Education Sports and Culture formalized the incentive system through Circular No. 5 of 2009. The study sought to investigate how incentives rejuvenated the education sector and at the same time how they have negatively affected the system. Teacher incentives were a positive move on short term basis. The findings of the study were that in the long run the incentives have negatively affected the education sector, parents, children and the teachers. The paper will discuss how these different stakeholders were affected by the teacher incentives.