Zimbabwe

Teachers agree to end one-year strike

Article published on the 2009-02-24 Latest update 2009-02-24 13:13 TU

A child in rural Gutu, Zimbabwe
(Credit: Reuters)

Zimbabwean teachers have agreed to end a year-long strike after new Education Minister David Coltart has agreed to review salaries and has appealed to Unicef and other donors for 360 million euros to help the education system over the next six months. The teachers have been striking to have their wages paid in foreign currency in order to deal with Zimbabwe's hyperinflation that has left the local money worthless.

Union said that teachers will return to work next week, while the government tries to secure financing, but stressed that salaries must be at the levels of the southern African region.

A union leader also asked that schoolteachers be exempt from paying school fees for their own children, saying that they can't afford them on the low salaries.

Unicef estimates that only 20 per cent of all students are attending classes while almost all rural schools are closed.