JUST last week, I bumped into a job vacancy advert from one of the key universities in the country, where 82 posts were being advertised, 60% of which were from the medical school.
My heart bled as I imagined the understaffing in universities, especially very critical areas like medicine, where specialists are leaving in droves because of poor working conditions.
For an experienced and specialised medical doctor to leave their private medical practice in Harare to take up a full-time lectureship post in Masvingo or Gweru is a mountain to climb.
Where are the ministers of Finance and Higher and Tertiary Education?
Universities are in trouble. They are facing high staff turnover and this issue should be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Motivation is key to service delivery and the realisation that human capital is the biggest asset of each and every organisation in the world should jostle responsible authorities to take action to ameliorate the plight of workers.
Known theories of motivation that include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McClelland’s theory of needs, Herzberg’s two factor theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory, Achievement goal theory, Attribution theory, Incentive theory play a significant role in staff retention.
When we talk of brain drain, many would think it is only the medical field that is affected, alas, higher education is in deep trouble.
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Primary and secondary education has also faced numerous challenges in terms of worker turnover emanating from poor working conditions, poor remuneration and general lack of incentives.
The country continues to bleed with incessant loss of skilled personnel and if this remains unabated, there is a danger of lowering the quality of education in the country.
The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education has a huge and daunting task on his hands if he needs to preserve the integrity of our education in the country.
Media reports claim that at least 7 000 health workers have migrated to greener pastures in the last three years, with the United Kingdom topping the list of beneficiaries.
Nurses, care workers, laboratory scientists, doctors, pharmacists continue to leave the country citing unbearable working conditions.
The salaries paid cannot sustain their families considering the fact that many of the workers are tenants who cannot afford the extortionate rentals being demanded by landlords.
Imagine getting a meagre US$250 against rentals of close to US$500 for a full house, US$200 average monthly as school fees for a mission boarding school, US$150 as grocery money per month plus other costs that include transport to and from work.
This is the same sad story of lecturers at tertiary institutions, who are forced to walk because they cannot afford to fuel their cars.
Minister Sir, your field is burning with nothing being done to douse the flames.
Does it mean government cannot organise a vehicle facility for lecturers which can be in the form of a simple loan.
We need serious action on the matter and it is my prayer that President Emmerson Mnangagwa takes note of the plight of tutors.
My heart bled when I saw a deputy dean at one of the State universities walking to work.
I imagined how difficult life is when a whole professor cannot afford to drive to work.
Was it that he had no car or he had no fuel to drive to work? All those questions lingered in my brain.
If the deputy dean is belittled to this level, then I wonder how the junior staff is managing.
Will the students have respect for their lecturers who ask for a lift to town from them?
Government should understand the level of dedication and diligence exhibited by the tutors who are persevering in the country.
These lecturers are the true pillars of our education system and it is, therefore, prudent to recognise them both intrinsically and extrinsically if we are to employ Herzberg’s two factor theory.
Can the Higher and Tertiary Education ministry address the challenges bedevilling the higher education sector as a matter of urgency?
Are there no non-monetary incentives to motivate our hard-working lectures?
How can we boast of Education 5.0 when we are being deserted by highly-skilled tutors under our watch?
The country has vast tracts of land which can be easily converted to residential land to benefit such important personnel, alas, land barons grab the same land for self-aggrandisement and most of them do so with impunity.
There have been numerous arrests of such land barons, but it seems prosecution has not been deterrent enough as many of them are super rich to apply for bail even at the highest courts.
This is the time to consider the plight of lecturers.
Higher and Tertiary Education minister Fredrick Shava should prove his mettle and address the challenges faced by his lecturers.
The national purse keeper, Mthuli Ncube, should understand what it takes to be a professor.
Our education system should be strong forever.
