The Zimbabwean parliamentary delegation visited the offices of the Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), an advocacy organisation in Ghana, to seek technical support towards Zimbabwe’s plans to implement the FCUBE programme, which has been implemented since 1995.

Led by the Chairperson of the Education Committee, Mr Torerayi Moyo, the delegation also sought to understand how Eduwatch had been able to influence government policies.

Mr Moyo expressed gratitude to Eduwatch for sharing its knowledge to help balance their perspectives and inform their recommendations to the Zimbabwean Parliament and Education Ministry to strengthen their free basic education planning process.

Meeting

Both parties, at a meeting, pledged to work together to ensure that Zimbabwe implemented a credible, inclusive and equitable FCUBE programme.

Their discussions centred on education financing, equitable access, quality basic and civil society’s role in ensuring a successful FCUBE programme.

The Executive Director of Eduwatch, Mr Kofi Asare, highlighted the need for parliaments across Africa to partner civil society organisations (CSOs) in their operations since they shared a common mandate to exact accountability over the executive arm of government.

Collaboration

He further cited the collaborative roles of Eduwatch in demanding accountability from government agencies mandated to deliver education service through parliamentary committees and other accountability agencies in government.

Mr Asare emphasised five critical building blocks for a free basic education in Zimbabwe — expanded school infrastructure, increased training and deployment of teachers, sustained funding, community and civil society participation, and an equitable system for deploying education resources, especially to rural areas.