By Naledi Nyoni
HARARE — The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has warned that teachers may limit classroom instruction to Mondays and Wednesdays, citing low wages and the rising cost of living as schools prepare to reopen for the third term on Tuesday.
In a Monday press statement, ARTUZ said the government was shifting its financial responsibilities onto struggling parents and underpaid teachers.
The union accused the state of failing to provide the resources needed for quality education, arguing that “education is a public good, not a private burden.”
“Teachers cannot perform miracles in a starved system,” the union said, while accusing the government of treating educators as “disposable cheap labour rather than essential professionals.”
ARTUZ said teachers were earning US$320 plus ZiG6,000, which it claimed was less than 25% of the monthly Poverty Datum Line of more than US$1,260.
The figures are in line with wider evidence of teacher dissatisfaction. Survey data shows average teacher earnings ranging between US$200 and US$350 a month, while 48% of teachers said an adequate monthly salary should exceed US$1,100.
More than 97% rejected salaries below US$591, while only 5.13% said their income was sufficient to meet their families’ needs.
It said the wage gap was forcing educators into informal work, with one teacher in Buhera recently dying in an artisanal mining pit.
The union said teachers could not generate alternative income inside the classroom and warned that if the state refused to fund full-time living wages, educators would be forced to adjust their input accordingly.
“Teachers cannot generate alternative income inside a classroom.
“If the state refuses to fund full-time living wages, teachers are forced to adjust their input accordingly—limiting teaching to two days per week (Mondays and Wednesdays) while using the remaining time to secure basic survival for their families,” ARTUZ said.
ARTUZ has previously reported that up to 1,260 teachers leave the profession every month during periods of recruitment freezes.
Separately, Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) data puts the number of educators leaving the country at about 300 a month.
Similarly, Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) statistics indicate that between 15,000 and 20,000 teachers leave the education sector annually through desertion.
ARTUZ also criticised the recently adopted job evaluation report, which it said had downgraded teachers from Grades B and D to Grades C3/C4.
It argued that the flattened Paterson grading model failed to reward qualifications,
The union said low earnings had also pushed teachers into debt, while restrictive conditions at the Government Employees Mutual Savings Fund (GEMS) meant educators were charged high interest rates when borrowing their own money.
The scale of indebtedness among teachers underscores the pressure on household incomes.
About 79.49% of teachers surveyed said they were servicing outstanding loans, with bank loans accounting for 56% of borrowing, followed by microfinance institutions at 39%, salary-based loans at 32% and informal money lenders at 31.5%.
Some 93.59% identified an increase in basic salaries as the single most effective intervention to reduce reliance on loans.
Beyond teachers’ wages, ARTUZ said the education system was facing shortages of learning materials, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating infrastructure.
It also criticised the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), saying chronic underfunding and administrative inefficiency had left vulnerable children excluded from school.
The union said ZIMSEC examination fees of US$24 per subject were placing secondary qualifications beyond the reach of many families.
It claimed that while approximately 390,000 learners sat for Grade 7 examinations annually, fewer than 200,000 registered for the minimum five subjects at ‘O’ Level.
ARTUZ said this represented the exclusion of more than 180,000 learners per examination cycle because families could not raise US$120 to US$200 in fees.
Findings from the Teachers’ Basket of Needs Survey, conducted by the Institute for Public Affairs in Zimbabwe (IPAZ) and commissioned by ARTUZ, underscore the financial pressures facing educators.
The survey, which covered 320 teachers from rural and urban schools across Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces, found that 71% rated their access to quality healthcare as poor or very poor, while 69% said they spent at least 41% of their monthly income on food.
Transport was another major challenge, with 58% of teachers relying on public transport to get to work and 14% reporting that they had no access to transport and were forced to walk long distances.
About 61.54% said a monthly transport allowance of between US$71 and US$100 would be the minimum acceptable amount.
These findings provide further context to ARTUZ’s argument that teachers are struggling to meet basic household needs on their current earnings.
The union also linked declining examination performance to lost contact hours, missing textbooks and demoralised staff.
It said teachers recruited as ZIMSEC examiners faced poor marking conditions, delayed allowances and inadequate remuneration.
ARTUZ called for teacher salaries to be restored to a minimum of US$1,260, indexed to current cost-of-living indicators.
It also demanded state-sponsored care centres for infants of government-employed teachers.
The union wants the Paterson grading model replaced with a system that rewards qualifications, years of service and administrative responsibilities.
It also called for debt relief, GEMS reform, pension security and amendments to the Public Service Act to protect collective bargaining and industrial action rights.
On school governance, ARTUZ demanded an end to partisan use of school funds and political rallies on school grounds.
It also called for individual ZIMSEC examination fees for public school students to be scrapped and BEAM replaced with direct per-capita grants.
ARTUZ further demanded better remuneration and accommodation for ZIMSEC examiners, a dedicated education fund backed by mineral revenues, and the devolution of education management to provincial and local community structures.
The union urged teachers, parents and communities to stand together to defend children’s constitutional right to education.
