The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has noted with concern the recent pronouncements by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, describing teachers’ industrial action as nothing more than a “predictable ritual.”
This arrogant dismissal of genuine grievances is not only an insult to the teaching profession, but also a direct attack on the learners of Zimbabwe whose right to education continues to be trampled upon by the ruling elite’s indifference.
Let it be clear:
Teachers are not staging a ritual.
Teachers are demanding a living wage of USD $1,260, safe schools, and adequate resourcing.
Teachers are fighting for the survival of the education system, which is collapsing due to chronic underfunding and government neglect.
The government’s continued failure to take responsibility has left teachers earning as little as USD $270 a month, far below the poverty datum line. Learners are packed into overcrowded classrooms, parents are drowning in unaffordable fees, and schools remain unsafe and under-resourced.
By trivialising these realities, government has once again shown its contempt for educators and its disregard for the constitutional right to free and compulsory basic education.
Ironically, such utterances only motivate us to fight harder. Every insult, every act of neglect, and every attempt to belittle our collective action strengthens our resolve.
As ARTUZ, standing in full solidarity with the Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Unions (FOZEU), we declare:
We will not be silenced.
We will not retreat.
We will continue to mobilise until teachers are paid a living wage, until schools are safe spaces, and until education in Zimbabwe is no longer treated as an afterthought.
The crisis in education is not of teachers’ making, but, it is the result of a government that has chosen politics over people and corruption over children’s futures.
We therefore call on all teachers to remain united under FOZEU’s banner and intensify the struggle. Our message to the state is simple: Defending teachers is defending education. An attack on us is an attack on the nation’s future.