Moving forward in Zimbabwe - Brooks World Poverty Institute - The ...

Moving forward in Zimbabwe
Reducing poverty and promoting growth
It is clear from Tables 6.9 and 6.10 that after 2000 the level
of investment in staff salaries and per capita grants was variable
from year to year, but it was severely eroded by inflation. A return
to the 22 per cent of the total state budget pattern of investment
into education and training as a target would be a salutary first step
in any new dispensation. A second step would be to try and ensure
that staff salaries are reasonable enough to satisfy basic needs. By
the time the IG was formed staff salaries in US$ terms were a
paltry 12 per cent of the average salary in 1990. The poor working
conditions accounted for the brain drain of teaching staff, many of
whom were not able to utilise their academic and professional skills
in the jobs they hold outside the country.
Per capita grants have shrunk to less than one US cent per
child in 2008 compared to US$6.26 in 1990-91 (see Table 6.10),
and this explains why schools are unable to purchase textbooks
and other teaching/learning materials. Note that the average
textbook in Zimbabwe costs about US$7, very high by regional
and international standards. It may be useful to utilise 1990-91 as
a benchmark. At that time investment in education was US$581
million, of which about US$456 million, 78.5 per cent of the
total, was for staff salaries. Whilst it may not be possible to return
very quickly to this level of real investment, it will nevertheless be
essential to plan a closer approximation.
Another clear trend is that the percentage of the budget spent
on higher education has increased, relative to that spent on primary
and secondary education (see Table 6.12). Whereas 86.7 per cent
of the budget was spent on primary and secondary education in
1990-91, this had shrunk to 69.5 per cent by 2008. Meanwhile the
percentage spent on higher education had increased from 13.3 per
cent to 30.5 per cent (see Table 6.11). The ratio of the unit cost
of primary to secondary to university was roughly 1:1.54:18. From
these figures it appears that secondary education in Zimbabwe is
relatively cheap, costing only about 54 per cent more than primary
education. University education is expensive, costing about 18
times more than the unit cost of primary education.
The increasing importance of higher education relative to
primary and secondary education may reflect a number of concerns
and problems. Lower investment in primary and secondary
education could mean that unit costs as well as quality may have
been lowered. The higher investment in tertiary education may
reflect the fact that tertiary education lecturers demand salaries
that are closer to international salaries, if they are to be retained.
The rapid increase in enrolments at universities may reflect a higher
demand for university education as a result of the expansion of
secondary education over the previous two decades.
Tables 6.11 and 6.12 indicate that in addition to the need
to increase the percentage of the budget allocated to education
from 14.5 per cent in 2008 to bring it closer to the 22 per cent that
was prevalent in the earlier years of independence, there is also a
need to consider the importance of providing a higher allocation
for primary and secondary education. Another noticeable factor
is the increase in the percentage of the budget for ‘other’ costs,
covering areas such as administration. This amount doubled from
8.4 per cent in 1990-91 to 17.2 per cent in 2008. This may indicate
that there are increased inefficiencies in the present system of
administration.
Table 6.11: Comparison of the budgets of the Ministries of Education and Culture and Higher Education, 1990-91
and 2008.
Ministry 1990-91 % 2008 %
Education and Culture 1,329,074,000 86.7 798,244,383,122,000 69.5
Higher Education 203,141,000 13.3 350,742,252,286,000 30.5
Total 1,532,215,000 100 1,148,987,635,408,000 100
Sources: Ministry of Finance Estimates of Expenditure, 1990-91 and 2008.
Table 6.12: Investment in primary, secondary and tertiary education, 1990-91 and 2008.
1990-91 % 2008 %
Primary education 809,715,000 52.7 470,604,822,479,000 41.0
Secondary education 452,474,000 29.4 245,748,428,678,000 21.4
Teacher education 24,968,000 1.6 28,577,551,514,000 2.5
Technical vocational
education and training
30,275,000 2.0 24,877,603,846,000 2.2
University education 91,835,000 6.0 181,565,697,500,000 15.8
Other 128,948,000 8.3 197,613,532,391,000 17.2
Totals 1,532,215,000 100 1,148,987,636,408,000 100
Sources: Ministry of Finance Estimates of Expenditure, 1990-91 and 2008.
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