The Zimbabwean government says it is moving to close about 600 private nursery schools because they are unregistered and do not meet hygienic and educational standards, in a step that could affect some 12,000 children from three to five throughout the country.
Education Ministry Acting Secretary Paul Damasane said “money-spinning” nursery schools have sprung up despite the implementation of the Early Childhood Development Program, whereby each Zimbabwean primary school is supposed to include a nursery class.
But Vusumuzi Mahlangu, a Bulawayo-based official with the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, told VOA reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga that most parents prefer private nursery schools to the state school system’s child development classes.
One nursery school owner in Harare, declining to be identified, said the government should register nursery schools that meet all requirements and inspect them regularly.