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Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
The controversy about whether the national school pledge is constitutional is, to the opinion of this writer, an unfortunate example of “Much Ado About Nothing”, to borrow a title of one of William Shakespeare’s comedies.

There are two pledges under discussion; one, for infant schools which says: “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag. I commit to honesty and dignity of hard work.”

For junior and Secondary schools, it is slightly more elaborate. It states: “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag.

United in our diversity by our common desire for freedom, justice and equality; respecting the brave fathers, and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/ Umvukela and national liberation struggles, we are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources.

We are the proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures. We commit to honesty and the dignity of hard work.”
Both statements are made not to heads of schools or to that of the state of Zimbabwe, but to “Almighty God.”

How is that unconstitutional? The national constitution acknowledges God’s existence. The National Anthem does the same, and also exhorts Zimbabweans to lift high the country’s flag: “Phakamisani iflag, lethu……”

That national hymn was composed several years before the two school pledges quoted above. It replaced “Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika”—- a prayer to God (Nkosi) to bless Africa, a continent targeted for colonisation by a number of European nations in the 19th century.

That hymn was originally meant to serve the entire African continent except Ethiopia, Liberia and Egypt, the only three countries not to be colonised, although Ethiopia was briefly occupied by Italy and was named Abyssinia a few years after the hymn was composed, and Egypt had been administered by Britain and France earlier because of its political leadership’s repeated and blatant failure to manage the national budget and public finances properly.

Changing to a purely Zimbabwean – composed anthem was a result of Zimbabwean nationalism that seeks to identify and promote the independent nation’s cultural identity and political aspirations.

That apart, the anthem is no more and no less in its message what the pledges convey.

It would make sense if those who criticize the pledges were saying they are duplicates in effect of the national anthem.

To say they are unconstitutional is to imply, in effect, that the national anthem is also unconstitutional.

We should remember, by the way, that the anthem was adopted some years before the constitution was crafted and later adopted.
If the national anthem is unconstitutional, that would mean that it violates some aspects of the nation’s fundamental law which was created years after its own adoption and use.

Whatever is the case in this purely academically legalistic matter, the fact is that the school pledges are nothing but acknowledgement of God’s existence and of his power over our lives, present and future.

Honesty and hard work are virtues that have to be cultivated and promoted in every child. The pledges simply commit the pupils and the students to respect the national flag and thank God that they are now owners of their national natural wealth.

How can anyone consider such sentiments to be unconstitutional? The answer to that has nothing to do with the constitutionality or otherwise of the pledges. The explanation lies most likely in whether or not those opposed to their children reciting the pledges believe in God’s existence or they are atheists or animists.

If they oppose the pledges because of one or both of those possibilities, they are most unfortunate to be living in Zimbabwe, a country whose recent social history is by and large steeped in Christianity.

A very dominant aspect of that social history is about its formal education which was Christian based.

It is precisely because of that well known fact that the two school pledges’ first words are “Almighty God….”

What follow are words of either thanks to or of acknowledgment about, and/ or promise or oath to God.

Some people may be opposed to the pledges for merely political reasons; that is, they may be opposed to the political party in government.

There are two types of such people; one category comprises those people who feel that the ruling political party is not efficiently administering the country.

As far as some of those people are concerned, there is nothing commendable that the government can do efficiently. That includes the introduction of school pledges. It is needless to say that this type of thinking is based on prejudice.

The other category of people opposed to the school pledges may be those who were opposed to the very liberation of the country in the first instance.

Yes, there are such people not only in Zimbabwe but in all the three continents on which colonisation of territories was ruthlessly carried out.
Those people cannot see the advantages of the indigenous peoples of these now liberated colonies becoming “……. Proud inheritors, of the richness of our natural resources”, nor do they derive pride in being…… “creators (of) and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures.”

It is strange but patently true that right down the annals of world history, there have been oppressed and exploited people who have seen non – existent security in servitude, even in slavery!

School pledges are to all intents and purposes a continuation of the psychological decolonisation process of post – independence generations of Zimbabwe.

That process is vital to avert the possibility of a recurrence of what happened to this country in 1890.
What appears to be debatable about those pledges is the frequency with which they should be recited, whether daily, weekly, monthly or termly.

My considered opinion is that once weekly is adequate, the day being left to the discretion of each school’s academic staff.

About the writer: Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo – based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email. [email protected]