HARARE, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will adopt a phased free primary education policy starting next year as part of government's efforts to ensure education for all, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on Monday.
Mnangagwa made the remarks in his national address during Independence Day celebrations to mark 42 years of political freedom in the second largest city of Bulawayo.
"The schools financing policy will see the equalization of opportunities for higher quality of education for all learners throughout our country. A phased free primary education system will also be settled from 2023," Mnangagwa told a cheering crowd.
In addition, Mnangagwa said government will continue promoting the teaching of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in schools.
"Given that the level of development of a nation is depended on the teaching and adoption of science, technology and innovation, resources will continue to be channeled towards expanding the availability of the teaching of science and related infrastructure to all the schools and institutions in the country," said Mnangagwa.
Before independence in 1980, access to education in the country was heavily skewed along racial lines.
Soon after independence government sought to correct this by making education a basic human right and changing the constitution to recognize primary and secondary public education as free and compulsory.
The southern African country's literacy rate soared to over 90 percent, making it one of the highest in Africa.
After the Structural Adjustment Program of 1992, all goods and services were priced at market value and education ceased to be free. As a result, many households have been under increasing economic strain to pay for school fees.
The education system in Zimbabwe encompasses 13 years of compulsory primary and secondary education. ■