TEACHERS HOLD ZIMBABWE TOGETHER, NOT ZANU PF

Today we celebrate Zimbabwe’s teachers. They are the builders of our future. They hold broken chalk and still draw hope on the board. They wake up very early. They walk long distances. They carry empty lunch boxes. They show quiet courage every day as they teach even when their pay cannot feed a family. I honour them, but praise is not enough. This year’s theme, “Recasting teaching as a collaborative profession,” tells us to move from saying thank you to taking action. We must work together and protect teacher dignity. We must build the schools our children need.

True working together can change every lesson and every life. But it must be free from fear and party control. We can build mentorship groups where older teachers help new teachers. We can share ideas and skills across generations. We can create simple online hubs where lesson plans and short masterclasses can be shared so rural and urban schools learn together. We can create mobile resource groups that move around the country with science tools and other learning materials so every child can see real equipment. We can start subject groups across schools where teachers lift maths, science, and languages as a team for the whole nation.

But these ideas need trust. They need unity. They cannot grow when teachers are watched and afraid. Groups like Teachers for ED destroy this trust. They bring fear into the staffroom. They silence honest talk. They do not help learners. They only reward loyalty to a party and punish teachers who think for themselves. They turn schools into political places. Our classrooms must never be used to recruit for a party. They must be safe places where every child can ask questions and every teacher can speak the truth without fear. Real collaboration needs freedom. It needs respect. It needs leaders who listen and systems that help children, not politicians.

Working together is also political because exploitation is political. When we act as one, we cannot be broken easily. Teachers must speak with one voice for living wages, safe rooms, enough books, chalk, and technology. We must be ready to take peaceful action when leaders refuse to listen. This includes peaceful protests and work stoppages. We must also work with parents, students, nurses, and all workers who want a fair country. When teachers across Zimbabwe refuse to be divided by distance, by experience, or by political pressure, we become a strong force for change.

We move from celebration to action now. I invite every teacher to the ARTUZ Sports Day on 22 November in Gweru. Come to play, but also to plan. There we will prepare for bargaining. We will plan actions to push for better working conditions. We will build stronger networks that make our profession strong and united. The sports field will be our meeting place and our promise to each other.

Our demands are simple. End Teachers for ED and all partisan groups that break unity. Education cannot grow in fear. Pay teachers a fair wage in line with the constitution. Stop the loss of talent, because around one thousand two hundred teachers are leaving the job every month. Put the rights to collective action and bargaining into the new Public Service Act so no one can silence legal unity or punish peaceful collaboration.

To every teacher who comes to class when there is nothing in the cupboard, you light the future. You are not alone. We stand with you against ZANU PF rule that has turned schools into billboards and teachers into beggars. We want classrooms full of books, not slogans. Labs with equipment, not promises. Salaries with value, not insults. Let us choose each other. Let us choose courage. Together we will rebuild dignity. Together we will build the schools our children deserve. Happy Teachers’ Day. Our liberation is collective, or it is nothing.