Zimbabwe tries to fix rural schools with tech while also telling teachers to stop being corrupt. The government there is handing out a bunch of gadgets to poor rural areas next week, starting in Manicaland province, then hitting Matabeleland South. Their education minister, Torerai Moyo, said this is part of pushing a mix of regular and digital teaching. The stuff includes over eight hundred laptops, more than seven hundred projectors, and over two thousand tablets from UNICEF.
This is targeting one hundred thirteen specific schools that already have solar power, because you need electricity to run the gear. The places getting the first wave are districts like Buhera, Chipinge, and Nyanga in Manicaland, plus Beitbridge, Gwanda, Matobo, and Insiza farther south. The idea is to give kids digital content and help teachers with lessons. A UNICEF guy, Fiachra McAsey, mentioned they will also train those teachers on how to use everything starting in February.
Meanwhile, the ministry is also yelling at school principals about shady stuff. Officials say some heads are asking parents for bribes to get their kids into certain grades or to transfer schools. Other schools are forcing families to buy uniforms from specific, expensive shops. Ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro said any head caught doing this faces misconduct charges, which could mean getting fired or even jail. He said private schools are not exempt from these rules either.
On the topic of school fees, the government said schools cannot just raise prices whenever they want. They need to hold a meeting with parents, get a proper majority to agree, and then send the reason to the ministry for approval. Ndoro did note that parents who skip these meetings might be counted as agreeing with whatever the attending parents decide.
The whole tech rollout connects to bigger plans for better internet in remote areas, with the government talking about maybe using services like Starlink someday. Minister Moyo tied the gadget handout to the president's goal of modernizing the country.
This is targeting one hundred thirteen specific schools that already have solar power, because you need electricity to run the gear. The places getting the first wave are districts like Buhera, Chipinge, and Nyanga in Manicaland, plus Beitbridge, Gwanda, Matobo, and Insiza farther south. The idea is to give kids digital content and help teachers with lessons. A UNICEF guy, Fiachra McAsey, mentioned they will also train those teachers on how to use everything starting in February.
Meanwhile, the ministry is also yelling at school principals about shady stuff. Officials say some heads are asking parents for bribes to get their kids into certain grades or to transfer schools. Other schools are forcing families to buy uniforms from specific, expensive shops. Ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro said any head caught doing this faces misconduct charges, which could mean getting fired or even jail. He said private schools are not exempt from these rules either.
On the topic of school fees, the government said schools cannot just raise prices whenever they want. They need to hold a meeting with parents, get a proper majority to agree, and then send the reason to the ministry for approval. Ndoro did note that parents who skip these meetings might be counted as agreeing with whatever the attending parents decide.
The whole tech rollout connects to bigger plans for better internet in remote areas, with the government talking about maybe using services like Starlink someday. Minister Moyo tied the gadget handout to the president's goal of modernizing the country.
