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The mushrooming of private educational institutions is a worrying development given that many of them are compromising educational standards. Many of these institutions are motivated by making profits as opposed to providing quality education. We totally agree with the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) that there is a need for government to control the commercialisation of the education sector.

Zimta president Richard Gundane told delegates to the association’s annual conference held at the weekend that commercialisation of the education sector was promoting segregation and inequalities in education. He said the government should come up with policies that promote non-discrimination in accessing education.

The new breed of entrepreneurs that is investing in education is after making huge profits as opposed to providing quality education. Gundane said education is a human right and therefore making a profit in the education sector is not acceptable.

“We’re still facing schooling gaps between the poorest and richest households, hence the importance of universal, compulsory and state- funded basic education,” said Gundane. He said private educational institutions should complement government in providing education as opposed to replacing public education.

Zimta said it is concerned that there is no monitoring of the rapid growth of private educational institutions especially in urban areas. The association said the government should put in place mechanisms to monitor and supervise the conditions of enrolment and the quality of education offered by private institutions.

The government, Gundane said, should also ensure that the learning environment remains academically effective, friendly and safe for pupils. We want at this juncture to implore the government to take seriously the issues raised by Zimta which if not addressed could erode what the country achieved in the education sector since independence.

Zimbabwe boasts of the highest literacy rate in Africa at 92 percent and this is because of the firm foundation attributed to the government’s policy of universal, compulsory and state-funded basic education. Private educational institutions should therefore complement government efforts to ensure that all Zimbabweans have access to education but should not compromise standards.

In many urban areas, church buildings, factory buildings, houses and other such buildings have been converted into schools and colleges. Some of these buildings do not have basic amenities such as toilets, thereby rendering them unsuitable for use by pupils or students.

It is a fact that most of these private institutions are not registered with the government, which confirms the issue of lack of supervision raised by Zimta What is painful is that these pupils learning under such deplorable conditions pay exorbitant fees.

We want to once again urge the government to, without delay, put mechanisms in place to ensure strict monitoring of private educational institutions so that they complement efforts to providing education without compromising standards.