Children work in Zimbabwe because there are no teachers

Two weeks into the new term Tatenda Marimire, 13, has spent more time as an unpaid errand boy for his school in Harare, Zimbabwe, than getting to grips with algebra, because there are no teachers. Like most civil servants, educators have increasingly stayed away from work to seek other sources of income to survive hyperinflation.

“We are spending most of the time cutting grass, cleaning dormitories and running errands for members of staff that have reported for duty, and this makes us feel like young workers without salaries,” Tatenda complained. “We don’t know where the teachers are and if we will manage to learn at all.”

The Zimbabwean government has been struggling to pay its employees inflation-related salaries and the education sector has been one of the worst affected by the eight-year economic crisis. Read more at IRIN News online.