Teacher Shortages-Govt Says Recruitment Depends on Treasury Support

…PSC Requests for 9000 More Recruits in 2026

By Delicious Mathuthu

Harare, Zimbabwe - Government says the recruitment of new teachers will only proceed when Treasury provides the necessary budgetary support, despite an acknowledged shortage of qualified staff in schools across the country.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Hon. Edgar Moyo, told Parliament recently that while thousands of trained teachers are awaiting absorption, appointments can only be made if there are vacant posts and Treasury concurrence to fund them.

Parliament was informed that the government is progressively absorbing qualified teachers, with a focus on critical subject areas.

The process, however, is currently constrained by budgetary limitations and that the approved number of teacher posts has been exhausted.

In a written submission, Mkoba South Member of Parliament, Hon. John Kuka questioned Government's policy on employment of teacher training graduates considering that thousands of teacher graduates were jobless in the country.

" …[what] steps [are] being taken by the Government to ensure that individuals who have completed the teacher training programme are employed, given their personal investment and the urgent need for qualified teachers in our schools?" Hon. Kuka asked.

In his response, the Minister acknowledged the personal investment made by graduates and the urgent staffing gaps in some schools, but he was keen to clarify government’s approach.

He said new appointments are tied directly to the existence of vacant posts and the availability of treasury support.

"Government acknowledges the commitment of teacher training graduates who have invested significant personal resources in their education and it recognises the staffing gaps that exist in some schools," Minister Moyo said.

He detailed the ongoing efforts to address the issue.

He stated that the Public Service Commission (PSC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and Treasury, has been working to absorb qualified teachers in a phased manner.

Priority has been given to subjects considered critical for the nation's development.

"The appointment of new members in the Public Service including teachers is based on… Existence of vacant posts [and] Availability of Treasury Concurrence (budgetary support) to fill the posts," Minister Moyo said.

The Minister further explained that the approved teacher establishment for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is fully utilized.

He said the PSC has been in discussions with the Ministry to request an increase of about 9,000 additional posts, and that a reviewed request for recruitment is expected by the end of August 2025.

"The Commission has been engaging the Ministry on the request to increase teacher establishment by around 9000 additional posts," he said.

Concerns were also raised about the time it takes to employ teachers for practical subjects.

Minister Moyo stated that most schools find these subjects too expensive to offer, opting for more affordable ones like Agriculture.

The PSC has recommended that the Ministry be given a budget to help schools with these costs and that future training of practical subjects teachers be more demand-driven.

To tackle high attrition in hard-to-reach districts, the Minister said the government approved new recruitment guidelines in December 2023.

"The guidelines provide for all teachers who would have volunteered to be appointed in hard to reach districts to serve at least four years prior to requesting for transfers to another District."

Hon. Moyo also noted that the Ministry will engage with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development to review manpower planning frameworks, ensuring a closer alignment between the number of graduates and the number of available posts.

Zimbabwe is grappling with a severe teacher shortage, a problem exacerbated by an exodus of educators seeking better remuneration and working conditions, both within the country and abroad.

A 2024 report by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Zimbabwe needs approximately 197,000 teachers to meet its workforce demands.

The deficit reveals a major challenge for the country's education system with the government recognising the shortfall, and making efforts to address it through recruitment drives.

In early 2025, the government gave the greenlight to recruit 4,000 teachers in the first quarter, with a target of hiring a total of 8,000 teachers throughout the year.

The efforts are however often outpaced by the rate of teacher attrition, with some reports indicating that as many as 4,000 teachers leave the country annually.

The shortage is particularly acute in rural and marginalized areas, where schools face an acute lack of qualified staff.

The problem is not only on the number of teachers but also the quality and distribution.

Many teachers leave for better opportunities, and those who remain are often under immense pressure due to high student-to-teacher ratios.

In some areas, this has led to a reliance on inexperienced and unqualified personnel to fill the gaps, which compromises the quality of education.

Government's new policy requiring teachers deployed to hard-to-reach districts to serve for a minimum of four years is an attempt to minimize teacher movement to urban, peri urban and better resourced schools to address this geographical imbalance.