True to our pledge as ARTUZ to show our dance moves in the hope that the President, Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa will borrow his generosity and provide teachers with the much needed relief by abiding with our demanded salary increment.
We received numerous videos from our membership and even from teachers outside the Union, whilst their intentions were pure and in line with our request we have resolved that the situation on the ground will not necessitate us to post such videos especially considering the attendance of both teachers and students on the opening day of the second term.
The poor attendance by students were in some cases the total turnout was fifteen students out of a total number of six hundred students is a cause for concern not a cause to dance and celebrate, we cannot be celebrating poverty, we cannot be dancing the impending academic death of whole generations.
The government has abdicated their responsibility to provide and care for the vulnerable and this includes underprivileged students in impoverished areas who lack the basic necessities to pursue their academic journey.
The total learner attendance nationwide stood at twenty percent (20%) which is a scary reality and a new low for the Zimbabwean education sector.The situation we are witnessing is at risk of being exacerbated by the drought that the nation is experiencing, the issue of hunger is more likely going to double or tripple the 500 000 students who are out of school due to poverty and famine.
Teacher attendance overall stood at 65 percent and this number is a miracle as there was a lot of sacrificing done to meet opening day however those who did not make it cited realistic issues to do with bus fares and basic welfare.
We understand that the head of State has shown more concern with rallies more than education but however we have also drawn a line that dancing on social media to gain attention is an insult to those who cannot dance because of the financial situation in the country, as a Union we are now more focused on pursuing a radical amd confrontational approach to demand a living wage for teachers and a viable environment for the millions of pupils spread across Zimbabwe.
We have decided to dance when our dreams have been realized for now we use the only mechanism which is open demand.From tomorrow we have instructed our membership to completely withdraw their labour until such a time when the demands we have been making and continue making are met with a sense of urgency and seriousness that they deserve.
Our Demands stands as thus;
1. 1260usd salary for all teachers, 100 percent in USD 2. Moratorium of exam fees and school fees for P2,P3 S2 and S3 learners non boarding schools.