In the forewords to this
report, the Country Director of British Council, Mr Roland Davies highlighted
that young people are not expecting hand outs; they are resilient and
determined. They are prepared to be entrepreneurs. He then posed the question –
How do institutions of the state and the business sector help make this happen?
This is a pertinent question
indeed; and it is a valid expectation that institutions of the state should
play a pivotal role in ensuring that a conducive environment is created for
young people to reach their fullest potential. Our local authorities, being the
lowest level of government, are best positioned to ensure that such an
environment is created, an environment that will provide entrepreneurial space
to the young people of Zimbabwe.
The report gave an overview of
the Education pillar as it relates to young people in Zimbabwe. Among other things, the report highlighted
that 94% of Zimbabweans above 15 years are literate, and that the majority of
the youth have completed secondary education. Moving beyond secondary education
was mainly a preserve of the youth in urban areas due to the absence of
infrastructure in the rural areas. This was blamed on the perpetuation of
deliberate colonial biases. The report
also mentioned that the increasing number of school drop outs was largely due
to finances in the urban areas, whilst social factors such as early marriages
were a significant cause in rural areas.
This ultimately speaks to our national commitment and/or ability to attain
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable,
quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
What can our local authorities
do to reverse the negative trends? As empowered by the Urban Councils Act (29:15)
and the Rural District Councils Act (29:13), our local authorities have a constitutional
mandate to provide non exchange services to the communities they serve. It is
in the efficient provision of these non exchange services that we can expect to
see a change in the education statistics presented.
1. Social
Amenities
There is
need for a deliberate investment by our local authorities in social infrastructure
such as schools. Urban councils already run a number of schools, but mostly are
still overcrowded. As they control the land, it is easy for them to establish
more centres of learning. Section 74 of the Rural District Councils Act demands
that the council have an Annual District Development Plan. Such plans should
always encompass the development of more institutions of learning. In a field
visit to Mangwe Rural District Council, the CEO shared that the council is
developing partnerships to improve the quality of their schools, after carrying
out a “fairly comprehensive inventory” of the schools in the district. Adopting
various PPP models should be on the cards for every local authority in the
provision of school.
2. Physical
Infrastructure
The
provision of a viable road network is critical in the development of any urban
area or rural district as it allows for, and encourages socio economic growth. From
the upgrading of roads, to the granting of licences/permits for communication
infrastructure development in the district, rural district councils allow for
development partners to easily develop more schools. It also allows learners to
have access to these institutions and also to access limitless resources
available over the internet. In the urban areas where this is readily
available, councils should consider optimum maintenance of these.
3. Youth
Policies
A robust
Youth Policy that promotes entrepreneurship and encourages innovation is still
evasive even for central government. The current national policy is slowly
getting outdated but the relevant government ministry is currently working on
revising it. Bulawayo City Council, as an example, is trying to revive its
Youth Policy there seems to be no significant progress. Youth policies detail
the local authority’s plan for the community’s young people. In the absence of
such a blueprint, there will be no deliberate funding or development of youth
centres and activities. All local authorities should adopt the National Youth
Policy and drat their local ones in response to their community dynamics.
4. Continuing
Education
Vocational
Training Centres have always been the local authorities’ avenue to provide a
meaningful skills education to its young people, especially those that would
have dropped out of school or failed. Rural district councils should explore
heavy investment in VTCs in light of the higher number of school drop outs due
to a myriad of problems such as early pregnancies. However, there is need for
an upgrade of these centres, in terms of physical infrastructure and also the
curriculum to keep it relevant. Entry into these centres should be affordable
to enhance local skills development.
5. Urban
Planning
To allow
for development including schools, urban municipalities should set aside prime
land for schools, provide spaces for and reserve land for hubs and other
creative industries and arts. This will assist young people from various
vocations to thrive. There is need for a drive to attract private sector
investment via the different PPP models.
6. Support
from Central Government is critical, as local authorities cannot go it alone. It
is central government that must set the tone to achieve SDG4.
Our local authorities have
given a lot of emphasis to water and other “core” service delivery issues but in
order to deal decisively with the Education issues cited in the Next Generation
2020 report, local authorities should:
·
Invest in more schools
·
Invest in more physical infrastructure such as
roads
·
Have robust and comprehensive youth policies
·
Have thriving and inclusive Vocational Training
Centres
·
Deliberately set aside land for academic
development
·
Have strong support from the central government
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