LATEST data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) shows that foreigners no longer prefer to study in the country.
A total of 469 752 visitors from abroad entered the country during the third quarter of 2023, with a small fraction coming for education purposes.
“The visitors visited the country for various purposes, which were categorised into in-transit, business, educational, holiday and shopping,” read ZimStats’s 2023 third quarter international migration report.
“Visitors who came to Zimbabwe for educational purposes in the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 38,9% from the second quarter of 2022.
“There were 7 475 education visitors in the quarter ending September 2023 compared to 12 242 in the quarter ending September 2022.”
A few months ago, German counsellor and deputy head of mission in Zimbabwe, Michael Ott, said the quality of Zimbabwe’s education system is fast deteriorating.
Locals from well up families are now sending their children to study abroad.
The credibility of the country’s education has also suffered from scandals that have dogged the sector, such as the leaking of examination papers.
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In his proposed 2024 national budget, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube allocated 18% of the budget resources, a figure that falls slightly short of the Dakar Declaration.
The declaration says 20% of the national budget should be channelled to the education sector.
According to ZimStats, most of the foreigners who visited the country came for holidays followed by those who were in transit, with only a handful coming for shopping.
“The number of holiday visitors in the third quarter of 2023 increased from a figure of 175 132 in the third quarter of 2022 to 207 680 in quarter ending September 2023 showing an increase of 18,6%,” the report read.
“The number of arriving visitors who came for business purposes increased by 212,8% from the quarter ending September 2022 to the third quarter of 2023. The number increased from 36 667 to 114 701 in the quarters under review.
“There were 5 833 visitors in the quarter ending September 2023 who came for shopping, up from a figure of 3 074 visitors recorded in the quarter ending September 2022. This represented an increase of 89,8%.”
According to the report, Zimbabwe received a total of 1 125 011 arrivals during the third quarter of 2023.
“Returning residents from abroad (46,3%) constituted the highest proportion of arrivals during the third quarter of 2023,” it added.
