The Impact of Irregular Schooling on Teaching and Learning a Case of Zimbabwe’s Education System in Mashonaland West Province During The Period 2008-2010

Abstract

The study sought to establish the impact of the irregular schooling of 2008- 2010
on teaching and learning in Zimbabwe. The study focused on schools in Mashonaland West
Province, randomly selecting three rural secondary schools and conveniently sampling
three urban secondary schools from which a sample size of 250 form two and „O‟ Level
students was selected. The objectives were to establish the level of school attendance
among pupils and teachers, time spent actually learning and school dropout/ repeat cases as
well as to investigate the behaviours and attitudes of pupils towards schooling, punctuality,
and discipline as a result of teachers‟ strikes. A survey research method was used with
questionnaires as data collection tools from students and interviews were held with
headmasters. Findings revealed that most of the pupils attended school for less than two
months in 2008 with very little time spent actually learning, while a moderate improvement
was noted in 2010. Student misbehavior mostly lateness, noisemaking, not doing
homework and absenteeism were rampant in the schools and pupils dropped out of school
to help fend for their families and the girl child was more affected. There are many students
who repeated grades when schools opened in 2009 due to inadequate content coverage in
2008. The study recommends that government puts in place a programme of learning to
cater for the many children who dropped out of school and those who did not adequately
learn due to the teacher strikes and economic hardships of the time. Parents should be
oriented to own schools and be proactive in developing and maintaining the quality of
education for their children. The government and responsible authorities should also work
towards increasing teachers‟ salaries to levels commensurate with the cost of living in line
with their qualifications as recognition of the role they play in the development of human,
social and cultural capital. There should be programmes for nurturing teacher
professionalism through a proactive teacher training programme in the various teachers‟ colleges and provincial education structures. Families should be encouraged to treat
children the same regardless of sex or abilities so as not to lose the gains made in the fight
for gender equality.