While many children across Zimbabwe enjoy a well-deserved school holiday in April, for exam classes, the learning never really stops. At institutions like ZRP High School in Harare, a “holiday crash programme” for Form 4 students is in full swing at a cost of USD 150 per child for just two weeks of lessons.
But the cost, while manageable for some, is out of reach for many families especially in rural and low-income urban areas deepening the already vast educational divide in the country.
“It feels like those with money are given an extra key to success, while we are left behind,” says Tariro Mutasa, a 16-year-old Form 4 student from Mbare. “My parents can’t afford the USD 150. I’ll be spending this holiday at home, trying to study on my own but I don’t even have textbooks for all my subjects.”
Holiday lessons, once an informal tradition offered voluntarily by teachers, have morphed into a booming parallel industry within the education sector. At elite schools, these lessons come with additional resources, well-structured revision schedules, and critically a chance to work closely with examiners and subject specialists.
For children from private or well-resourced schools, it’s a chance to consolidate what they’ve learned. For those in underfunded public schools, it’s a luxury out of reach.
“We are seeing schools operating like private businesses during the holidays,” says Mr. Farai Chikomo, a mathematics teacher from Chitungwiza. “And I understand it. Salaries are so poor, teachers are just trying to survive. But the outcome is that only the students who can pay benefit.”
While the Constitution clearly states that there should be free basic education, in practice, parents are still required to pay tuition fees, buy learning materials, and now, fork out extra money for holiday lessons, sometimes at the same school that failed to deliver sufficient learning during the term.
“Our school hasn’t received meaningful support from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in years,” says Mrs. Vimbai Mkolo, a rural school head. “We don’t have science kits, libraries, or ICT facilities. So when holidays come, students are encouraged to find private lessons elsewhere.”
Indeed, the Ministry of Education’s failure to fund schools has left educators to find their own ways to supplement learning and incomes but the result is a two-tier system that penalises the poor.
While Tariro misses out on holiday lessons, Tawanda Muringani, also 16, from a middle-class family in Westgate, is attending the ZRP High School crash programme.
“We’re going over past papers, working through difficult topics, and getting exam tips. It’s intense but very helpful,” says Tawanda.
The disparity in access to holiday learning reflects deeper systemic issues. Zimbabwe has an estimated shortage of over 2,800 schools, and over 50,000 teachers. The average student-to-teacher ratio in some schools is 1:60, double the recommended figure by UNESCO.
Zimbabwe’s public education sector has suffered decades of underfunding. According to education stakeholders, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has not meaningfully invested in schools for years. Most institutions, especially in rural areas, survive on school fees alone of which only a handful pay and that’s barely enough to buy chalk, let alone hire extra teachers or install internet.
The national Ordinary Level pass rate for 2024 was just 33.19%, meaning two-thirds of students failed to pass at least five subjects. Some rural schools recorded a 0% pass rate.
Even the Minister of Education, Hon. Torerayi Moyo, admitted:
“We have seen, Hon Speaker, that a zero percent pass rate is usually scored by schools in the rural areas as there are serious disparities between urban and rural schools.”
These disparities are now reflected in the proliferation of paid holiday lessons with urban schools able to offer services rural schools can’t, further widening the achievement gap.
“It’s not just about holidays,” says Robson Chere, Secretary General of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ). “It’s about an education system that no longer works for the poor. The government has failed to fund basic education, and children from poor households are being sacrificed.”
Chere says that instead of leaving education to be driven by market forces, the government should invest in structured holiday programmes that are free or subsidised, especially for exam classes.
Zimbabwe’s Education Act, guarantees free basic education and prohibits discrimination based on socio-economic status. Yet, the lived reality is a far cry from this legal promise.
“The Constitution is clear, education is a right, not a privilege,” says Obert Masaraure, ARTUZ President. “When schools exclude students because of money during the term or holidays it is a violation of this right.”
As the school holidays continue, Zimbabwe must ask itself: Are we building a future based on merit or on money? For Tariro, and thousands like her, the answer could determine whether they rise out of poverty or remain trapped by it.
“We are our own liberators,” says ARTUZ’s Robson Chere. “Teachers, students, and parents must unite and demand an education system that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.”