THE Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has mobilised its members to boycott a government-organised education conference scheduled to start in Harare tomorrow in protest over its lack of a clear agenda.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
In a statement yesterday, ARTUZ national president Obert Masaraure said the agenda of the conference was so vague to the extent that the “protagonists of the conference are shying away from articulating what they seek to achieve by hosting the junket”.
Delegates to the three-day conference are expected to be wearing school uniform.
“This is the third conference, but if you were to ask (Primary and Secondary Education) minister (Lazarus) Dokora or his lieutenant (Sylvia Utete) Masango to report on any positive outcomes of previous conferences or articulate the expected outcome of this year’s event, they will blubber around and say nothing concrete.
“Having noted the above, Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe will not be part to this party organised by the out-of-sorts ministry manning the affairs of education,” Masaraure said.
“The design of this conference is not by accident, but a true reflection of Zanu PF’s model of governance which is sustained by three pillars. Firstly, they thrive on alienating and dehumanising their subjects; secondly, they enjoy posturing as if they are doing something, yes they want to be seen to be doing something; and finally they invoke trend-setting revolutionary models to sanitise their rubbish.”
Efforts to contact Dokora were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswered.
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Masaraure, however, said forcing school heads to wear uniforms was a calculated move to dehumanise them by treating them like kindergarten kids.
“The school leaders are more experienced in running education affairs than Dokora himself.”
He said Dokora was not fit to preside over such a conference as his presence alone would deter educationists from engaging in robust discussions on how to save education.
“We further note with concern the waste of levies that will occur as schools will bankroll headmasters to attend this useless conference, thus it is the rural poor who will foot the bill. We also know that some rogue elements will take advantage of this situation and award themselves outrageous allowances for coming to this conference,” he said.
