Education Policies and Economic Development in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

Since Independence in 1980 there has been a massive expansion at all levels of the education system in Zimbabwe; the objective of universal primary education has already been achieved but critics have questioned the efficiency of the system. Although Zimbabwe has an outstanding record of cost-sharing sin Education, the State’s recurrent expenditure for the sector has been increasing. Since 1982 the slowdown in economic growth in Zimbabwe, the burden of foreign debt servicing, and an escalating budget deficit have overshadowed the exceptional industrial structure of the country. This paper attempts to trace the relation between the rapid expansion of the education system and economic development in Zimbabwe. We find that the Zimbabwean context warns against the danger of World Bank generalizations. It also cautions against the complacency that arises from the favorable comparison of Zimbabwe’s management of the education sector with that of other African countries.