BY TIM MIDDLETON
In these hard times, Zimbabweans have looked to set up their own businesses; naturally, they have thought: “What do my fellow Zimbabweans want most, which I can then provide for them?” After a few moments thought, the answer has come resoundingly loud and clear: Zimbabweans want their children educated! As a result, many people have started schools, with no experience or expertise in education other than that they went to school once. In one sense these people have invested in education. At the same time the government has let it be known that it welcomes investors in education, be they private or public, be they local or foreign. They want people to build. However, it may be argued that neither approach is actually investing in education.
Investing in education is not a matter of building schools. Let us be clear: we are talking about investment in education not investment in schools. Having schools is not the end product. The problem with building schools is that we may be doing it for money, for profit, in which case there is no benefit to education; financial factors take precedence over educational ones when decisions are made. Financial investment in building schools means a vested personal interest in the result, in the product. It also all too easily becomes all about reputation, where decisions are based on what is good for the reputation of the school, not for the education of the children.
Investing in education is not a matter of building schools, but about building children, individually, uniquely, personally, humanly. We are investing in their character, their potential, their ambitions, their opportunities, not least by investing respect and responsibility into their lives. Such input will produce great results and value. If we do that well, the investment will reap greater rewards as those children will invest even more in their own children in turn — and the country will benefit.
Equally, investing in education is not a matter of building schools but also about building society as a whole. As the current pandemic has been showing us, the real need and value of schools is for the social development of children, living alongside each other, working with each other, engaging with each other. We are not simply building each individual child but we are building them up in order to build society and community. If we do not invest in that, society will crumble. That is the real social responsibility we should all undertake. Invest in our children to develop society.
Furthermore, investing in education is not a matter of building schools but ultimately about building the future. Our children are our future; how we develop and train them will determine what sort of society we will inhabit. What sort of society we develop will determine the future of our country; if we invest in schools purely for our profit we will see children as our future pension, little else.
We need to be very clear that investing in education is not done purely by investing money. When people invest money it is generally with the intention of getting more money out. It is about self; it is about profit. If our education is to be significant, we must invest in it in different ways. What we must invest is our time, our energy, our values, our beliefs, our creativity, our intellect, our passion. Without that, any financial investment is wasted. When we do that, our investment will make a difference to society at large as well as to each individual child. We promote values in each child so that their own value to society will increase.
What it comes down to is this. It is not private or public investment that we need in education; it is personal investment. It is a long-term investment, from which many will benefit. There is no quick buck or quick fix. An indication of how serious we are about our investment in education will certainly be reflected in what we pay the teachers and their support staff; however, simply paying teachers more is not going to make them better teachers. The state of the nation is a reflection of the investment that has gone into education as we have all received some form of education. The question is: are we happy with the returns we are now getting from that investment? If we are not, what are we going to do about it? The best investment in education is in raising the standard of education. It is not a matter of building schools, but of building society; it is about outcome, not income; it is about making a difference, not a profit. Will we invest in education? How?
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
- Tim Middleton is the executive director of the Association of Trust Schools [ATS]. The views expressed in this article, however, are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of the ATS.
- email: [email protected]
- website: www.atschisz
