Teachers’ Unions have rubbished remarks made by Primary and Secondary Education minister Paul Mavima, that they are now pursuing a political agenda to destabilise the education sector.
Mavima on Monday told NewsDay that some unions were unthankful even though the government is trying to improve their remuneration.
In response to Mavima, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) leader Obert Masaraure had this to say:
Artuz remains non-partisan but committed to fighting for a fair share of the national cake for the education sector.
There is absolutely nothing partisan with condemning the stealing of
$6 million meant for teaching materials and, indeed, it is above board to demand a living wage for our teachers.
The political agenda being pursued by Mavima and his elite cabal is inimical to the collective aspirations of the working class.
Their agenda is to preserve the national cake for themselves and condemn everyone into extreme poverty.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou rejected Mavima’s accusations. He said:
Any assertion to that PTUZ is pushing a political agenda is at best a fantasy, analytically vague and vacuous, an attempt to find politics behind every rubbish bin in Zimbabwe … teachers cannot accept a 60% salary increment in a country where basic commodities and fuel prices have gone up by 2 000%.