Source: Education Offices Shutting Down Amid Funding Crisis ⋆ Pindula News
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s offices at the district and provincial levels are reportedly shutting down across the country, with some said to lack even necessities such as toilet paper due to a severe shortage of funds.
An official from the Ministry told the Masvingo Mirror that the entire education supervisory system has effectively ground to a halt because of the funding crisis. The official was quoted as saying:
“There is not a cent to run district and provincial education offices. There is no stationery, no toners, no fuel, no water, no electricity, not even toilet paper; schools inspectors are just sitting in their offices, they cannot go into the field.”
Dozens of workers under the Better Schools Programme Zimbabwe (BSPZ) have reportedly gone without pay since October 2025 after the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion froze BSPZ bank accounts over alleged widespread abuse of funds by provincial and district education officers.
According to the Masvingo Mirror, most of the Ministry’s administrative functions are now being sustained through payments made by parents under the BSPZ scheme.
The funding shortages have reportedly taken a toll on operations. Some Ministry employees are said to have stopped reporting for duty after electricity and water supplies were cut off at several district and provincial education offices due to unpaid bills.
Even when officers do come to work, little gets done as official vehicles are grounded because there is no fuel.
Reports claim that school inspectors, who usually number around ten per district, have not been able to carry out field visits since last year. On top of that, their Travel and Subsistence allowances are said to be in arrears dating back about four years.
In Masvingo, the District Schools Inspector, Ishmael Chigaba, reportedly approached the National Association of Primary School Heads (NAPH) and the National Association of Secondary School Heads (NASH) for help in settling water and electricity bills.
Chigaba confirmed the situation in an interview with the Masvingo Mirror, but declined to reveal who eventually paid the bills. He referred further questions to the Provincial Education Director, Shylatte Mhike.
However, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education spokesperson, Taungana Ndoro, said operations were continuing smoothly and that funds were being distributed to district and provincial offices through Treasury.
Officials at several offices contacted by the Masvingo Mirror disputed this, insisting that they have not received any Treasury disbursements for more than four years.
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