But what happens when the type of jobs that school leavers usually get no longer exist? Under such circumstances is going to school worth it? Is it not better to invest in the practical skills of farming and herding and commit to rural production rather than escape to alternatives off-farm?
In Zimbabwe, this is a live debate as the core economy has collapsed and formal jobs are scarce. Unless you can pay for really elite education and get those few professional jobs in the country or abroad, does having a scattering of Cambridge O’ Levels – and all the costs associated – make sense?
Educational achievements
In our study of young people’s post-land reform prospects, the dilemmas around educational options were often raised in discussion. Amongst the younger cohort in our sample (now aged 20-31) only 4% of individuals are still in education, with the highest proportion (8%) being women in Matobo, very often doing retakes of O’ Levels. In Cohort 1, 59% completed Form 4 (pre-sixth form secondary school level), rising to 60% in Cohort 2. This remains a significant proportion and is higher amongst women across sites except Masvingo. The percentage that continued to sixth form or beyond remains small (10% and 11% in total), although a relatively high proportion of women in Matobo continued to post-secondary education in the recent cohort, including vocational training linked to poultry contract outgrowing at the commercial farm near the site. The numbers that finished schooling at primary level (Grade 7) was 18% and 14% across the cohorts, with the highest level being men in Matobo (31% in both cohorts), who often leave the area for work so abandoning school.
Table 1a. Education level, Cohort 1 (percentages)
Masvingo Matobo Mvurwi Total
Women Men Women Men Women
Completed to Grade 7 21 10 12 31
Completed to Form 2 17 12 10 15
Completed to Form 4 55 68 59 40
Completed to Form 6 0 2 12 4
Post-secondary qualification 7 7 7 10
Table 1b. Education level, Cohort 2 (percentages)
Masvingo Matobo Mvurwi Total
Women Men Women Men Women
Completed to Grade 7 23 6 9 31
Completed to Form 2 9 11 19 18
Completed to Form 4 64 70 49 43
Completed to Form 6 0 6 8 0
Post-secondary qualification 4 6 16 8
The data show that, overall, a large proportion of young people complete some schooling, often struggling on to Form 4 (after which the expensive cycle of retakes frequently kicks in). The pattern of educational achievement has not changed much over time, and is balanced between men and women, with no obvious pattern of discrimination emerging, even if there are particular instances.
Regional and local variations: cultures of education
How do cultures of education affect outcomes? One explanation could be linked to a materialist ‘returns to education’ argument. For example, in Mvurwi the value of tobacco production is high, and the financial benefit of withdrawing children from school to provide labour is potentially significant. This does result in discrimination against girls, who in a number of cases have been married very young in this site but, overall, the level of educational achievement is on a par if not higher among those in Mvurwi and not systematically discriminating against women.
The lowest levels of educational achievement are seen in Matobo, where education to Form 4 is under 50% for the younger cohort and reduced for women compared to the older cohort. This presumably reflects the pull of migrant and mining labour opportunities, resulting in earlier withdrawal from schools.
Of course, economics is not the sole calculation. In our discussions, many other factors came into play. As our blog series and book from that time showed, the COVID-19 pandemic had a massively disruptive effect on children’s education, including many in our younger cohort. Schools did not open for months, and students would hang around homes sometimes taking drugs. Teenage pregnancies were reported to have risen in this period, and teachers commented that when kids returned to school when they opened, they showed little motivation and commitment, and many dropped out.
Nevertheless, both through the pandemic and subsequently, most parents remained keen for children to stay in school so that they might get better opportunities later – and keep away from alcohol or drugs in the meantime. Even if not immediately useful a few O’ Level certificates could come in useful later, if the economy rebounded was the argument. Parents encouraged their daughters to stay in school to avoid the suffering that often follows early marriages to older men, sometimes in polygamous arrangements. A more independent, educated woman would be able to look after herself better, it was argued. And many were simply committed to the idea that education is a ‘good thing’, part of being ‘modern’, ‘Christian’ and something that post-independence liberation had offered and what grandparents and others had struggled for.
The commitment to education in Masvingo, for example, despite it seemingly being at some level economically ‘irrational’ as returns from horticulture for example are high, is in large part to do with the long history of mission education in the area. Well known mission schools, including Gokomere, Rufaro and further afield Morgenster, have had a huge influence on the area. In the colonial era, these schools were sought after by aspiring Africans and those who passed through have remained committed to the ideal of education across generations.
This was reinforced at Independence when the state invested heavily in education supporting a universal provision, something not available for previous generations. Many of these schools in Masvingo province were at the forefront of this new wave of education that several generations of Zimbabweans (now parents of our cohorts) benefited from. This is why, despite the failure of the education system today, with low exam pass rates, teacher pay being a pittance and a crumbling infrastructure, many remain committed to education. It is also why there is a massive growth in private education, with many new schools across urban centres and a huge number of teachers, current or past, offering extra lessons for a fee as private tutors (see our small towns blogs). Parents make significant sacrifices to ensure that their children gain these benefits, with large sums paid on various fees and sometimes kids moving to town to stay with relatives or going to boarding school.
Those who buck this trend are the followers of Apostolic churches, many of whom we find in our Masvingo study sites. Apostolic followers invariably have huge families with many wives, and most children don’t attend school beyond primary. Children (and many wives) in these families are deployed as ‘free’ agricultural labour on often highly intensive horticultural operations that would not survive without this domestic subsidy.
Education as a bet on the future
For most, though, education remains an important bet on the future. A route out of the uncertainty and precarity of the current situation. As an investment, the narrow economic returns are not obvious, but the wider, more intangible benefits are clear, including the (continued) hope that things will get better in the formal economy. These perceptions vary depending on cultural histories, religious affiliation and collective peer pressure, resulting in differences within and between sites.
Despite everything, the reputation of Zimbabwe as a highly educated society remains, and it will continue to be important for future options as young people try out alternatives, including the many entrepreneurial, technology-led routes to agricultural accumulation discussed in a later blog.
This is the sixth blog in a series exploring young people and land in post-land reform Zimbabwe. The blog has been written by Ian Scoones and Tapiwa Chatikobo, with inputs from Godfrey Mahofa (data analysis), Felix Murimbarimba (field lead) and Jacob Mahenehene (field assistant), amongst others. This blog first appeared onZimbabweland
Post published in: Featured