Soon after gaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe inherited a few schools. And the government's priority to build more schools from primary to university level was the best thing that happened to the country. School tuition and fees were affordable. Government subsidies played a crucial role to stabilise the learning environment as the country basked in the joy of the new baby, Zimbabwe.

Fast forward, and sending a child to school became one of the most expensive things. Parents started to remove their children from boarding schools and private-run schools to government-run day schools. School materials which were free after payment of school fees were scrapped as government subsidies were removed and parents were left to fend for themselves. Soon, wages could not keep up with the rising costs and protests became the order of the day. Civil servants abandoned their allegiance to teaching children. They confronted the government by engaging in industrial action more often than the time they would spend in the classrooms.

Education for Democracy defines corruption in education as including “making certain groups pay extra to access ordinary schools, only teaching compulsory subjects in fee-paying tutorials, only passing students who have paid for extra lessons, shadow schools, ghost teachers, rigged examinations, sexual harassment and exploitation, doctors and engineers with false qualifications who endanger lives embezzlement and nepotism”. This is not far from the truth of the current situation as corruption in the education system continues spiralling unabated.

Corruption in the civil service gained traction. Hardly any day went by without a mention of corruption in the civil service. Now we are here. Teachers demand extra lessons fees from parents in United States currency to cover the wage difference they have failed to glean from their employers.

Parents with children who are boarders would resort to sending their children for extra lessons at local day schools other than their school, as teachers cash in by charging high extra lesson fees. In 2021 teachers and private tutors were said to be cashing in on extra lessons, charging up to US$40 per subject per month, especially for secondary examination classes as parents and guardians became desperate to make up for lost time, which was caused by the Covid-19 necessitated national lockdown.

Teachers are short-changing learners during the school term so that parents can bring the children for extra lessons during the holidays. Teachers are forcing the parent's hand to pay them extra lessons fees even though the parents know that it is illegal and is as corrupt as it sounds. Extra lessons have also added an extra burden on parents who are already struggling to pay for tuition and uniforms. Of late, a number of teachers’ homes have been converted to mini-classrooms for extra lessons. Sexual harassment of students is rampant in these mini-classrooms as there is no supervision of any sort. In some instances, teachers especially in primary schools force students to buy items they bring to classrooms to sell to them. Some demand the extra lesson fees in United States dollars only. Parents are caught between a rock and a hard surface.

At first extra lessons targeted those students who could pay for the service rendered and it was being carried out during normal school hours, lunch hours, after-school hours and weekends. Those who could not afford to pay the extra lessons fees were asked to look the other way or worse still sent out of the classrooms or denied entry. It is a conspiracy that is deep-rooted that will take an arm and a leg to uproot. It also shows a lack of supervision by the responsible authorities as the school activities are not being supervised and monitored to detect an untoward situation. It is a free fall.

At first, it was popular with pupils preparing for public examinations and at the end of school terms as students prepare to sit for their final school term examinations. Lately, extra lessons have extended to Early Childhood Development classes [ECD] below six years and to ask what really they need the extra lessons for. Teachers are cashing in on the system left, right and centre and exploiting the situation at every opportunity they can get.

The government has moved in to stop the menace by prosecuting the few that have been found engaging in extra lesson activities. This has only gone as far as that as the other processes of disciplinary action are not followed up, clearly showing the system entrenchment. The system is deeply rooted. It involves the entire school, district and other responsible staff that they pay a blind eye and deaf ear to it when it is their duty to stop it.

Formal education which should be free for all is dead. This has promoted elitism and unequal access to education. Those who cannot afford to pay, lose out and fail at the end of the school's term examinations when they sit for public examinations. A generation is being lost in the wilderness by greed and selfish aggrandisement of the lot which are destroying our future, the country’s future, and the country.