The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is set to expand its Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programme to the remaining 54 districts across Zimbabwe following encouraging results from a pilot project conducted in 18 districts.
The programme, implemented by the ministry with support from Education Development Trust (EDT), Think Equal and the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), is funded by the UK Government under the Teacher Effectiveness and Equitable Access to All Children programme.
The planned expansion was announced on Thursday by the ministry’s director of communication and advocacy, Taungana Ndoro, on the sidelines of a national workshop held at Sky Lodge in Kadoma to disseminate evaluation findings from the SEL programme and the ministry’s Strategy on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion.
The workshop, held on August 27, brought together senior ministry officials and development partners working to equip learners with foundational academic, social and emotional skills in support of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 goals.
The SEL pilot was implemented in Mashonaland Central, Manicaland and Matabeleland South provinces
Addressing the media after the workshop, Ndoro said preliminary monitoring and evaluation results showed that the programme was producing positive outcomes in schools.
“From the results we are getting, they are on a positive trajectory. As a ministry we are going to take this to the remaining 54 districts of our country,” he said.
The programme targets Early Childhood Development (ECD) learners aged three to six and focuses on developing 25 core competencies, including self-confidence, kindness, mindfulness, emotional literacy, empathy, collaboration, creativity, resilience, self-regulation, problem-solving, critical thinking, self-awareness, communication, relationship-building, inclusion, gender equality and peaceful conflict resolution.
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Ndoro said the programme was designed to help children develop the emotional intelligence and other life skills required to become responsible and productive members of society.
“We want our children to be able to have emotional intelligence at a very young age. When they grow up, they will become better citizens,” he said.
He added that such skills were important beyond the classroom and remained relevant in the workplace.
“Even if you are a CEO or a manager, those are the skills you need. There are what we call intangible skills or soft skills. They go beyond the cognitive domain,” Ndoro said.
Education Development Trust representative Loveness Chimuka said SEL was central to implementing the ministry’s 2024 Zimbabwe Early Learning Policy, which seeks to provide inclusive, equitable and high-quality early childhood education and foundational learning.
“The SEL Programme is central to operationalizing the Ministry’s 2024 Zimbabwe Early Learning Policy, meant to provide inclusive, equitable and high-quality early childhood education and foundational learning for all children,” she said.
“Its goal is to ensure that children have the emotional resilience, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.”
External evaluation findings have provided further impetus for the planned expansion, with EDT reporting that 99 percent of infant teachers surveyed observed improvements in learners’ SEL competencies after participating in the programme.
The greatest gains were reportedly recorded in problem-solving and critical thinking, with teachers saying the skills were already contributing to improved classroom engagement and learning outcomes.
Chimuka said the positive feedback from educators had helped drive the decision to scale up the programme.
“The positive impact on both teachers and learners is clear,” she said. “Scaling up will allow more schools across Zimbabwe to benefit from this approach to foundational learning and standardise and strengthen the School Infant Module to build strong foundational skills in numeracy and literacy and social emotional competencies.”
The expansion will also seek to embed SEL practices into teacher training and school systems, with continued support from the ministry and development partners.
Think Equal Africa programmes manager Tinotenda Chigeza said targeting ECD learners was critical because early childhood represents a crucial period of brain development.
“We are targeting ECD level because according to neuroscience, these are the brain-building years. Ages three to six are the years where children are most receptive, and that’s where we want to lay the foundation for lifelong skills,” she said.
“Through social and emotional learning, we equip children with self-regulation, emotional awareness and critical thinking skills. We are looking to expand further in Zimbabwe, and we are open to partnerships to support holistic foundational learning.”
REPSSI programmes manager Blessing Manditsera said the organisation’s partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe and EDT was focused on integrating SEL into early childhood education.
She said the external evaluation had confirmed that training teachers, district officials and provincial structures was producing positive results.
“The evaluation confirms that indeed the work that has been happening over the past one year in terms of training teachers and district and provincial structures is yielding results in as far as social and emotional learning for children is concerned,” Manditsera said.
“We are hoping that this work is actually contributing to tangible results. It’s changing lives.”
The workshop also provided a platform for the dissemination of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s 2025-2030 Strategy on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion.
The strategy seeks to ensure that learners are not excluded from education because of gender, disability or social background, while promoting more inclusive and equitable learning environments.
Education experts at the workshop said integrating SEL into the curriculum could help address the traditional emphasis on academic performance by equipping learners with skills to manage emotions, build relationships and make responsible decisions.
They said stronger social and emotional competencies could contribute to improved classroom behaviour, learner well-being and academic outcomes.
