HARARE – Education Minister Torerayi Moyo stunned parliament with a claim that Zimbabwe has built over 600 new schools since 2022, even as the Public Service Commission struggles to recruit teachers due to a treasury-ordered freeze on recruitment.
Responding to a parliamentary question last Wednesday, Moyo said a 2022 study found the country had a deficit of 3,000 schools – a gap he now insists is steadily being closed.
“Since 2022 until now in 2025, we have built more than 600 schools. This year, we are targeting to build not less than 200 schools,” Moyo told MPs.
Pressed on the figures, the minister clarified that he was counting not only government projects but also schools constructed by churches, corporates, NGOs and individual ministers. He cited examples including: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which he said had built seven schools this year; they had Johane Marange Apostolic Church, reportedly constructing more than eight schools in 2025; the government’s own 25 schools funded by the National Building Society (NBS); a pledged US$20 million grant from the OPEC Fund for International Development and support from foreign partners such as Algeria.
Moyo said his ministry’s performance was judged primarily on school construction, and he expected to meet the 200-schools target by year-end.
But his bold claim has been greeted with disbelief.
Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), challenged the minister to produce proof.
“Can the minister show us photos and names of just five of these schools? The minister should be reminded that his colleague the finance minister said they are concentrating on three schools, so where are these 600 schools coming from?” Majongwe asked.
Obert Masaraure, president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), was even more scathing.
“We have asked the government to provide names of the schools they have built and the exact locations of the schools. The government is not willing to provide such information.
“The minister is a bad liar and even a political novice can easily pick the lie. Zimbabwe desperately needs schools to provide education to the millions of children in need of education. We still need at least 3,000 schools,” Masaraure said.
He added that instead of “cooking up numbers,” government should establish an education equalisation fund, financed partly by a levy on mineral wealth, to fund school construction and rehabilitation. He also called for land to be set aside to support private players constructing low-cost schools.
The government’s school infrastructure drive also stands in sharp contrast to its freeze on teacher recruitment, which has left thousands of qualified educators unemployed and worsened overcrowding in classrooms.
Critics warn that until the government prioritises staffing, any claims of mass school construction risk being little more than inflated statistics designed for political gain.
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