An investigation into the dialectical relationship between Catholic - run schools and the government of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The project aims at interrogating the dialectical relationship between catholic-run schools and the government of Zimbabwe in the provision of quality education. These two players started to officially work together after the promulgation of the 1894 Matabeleland Order in Council. This order in council gave birth to the 1899 Education Ordinance which legally prescribed how the state was going to relate to the church education institutions as well as the non-denominational learning institutions. That legal prescription and the subsequent education policies received mixed feelings within the rank and file of denominational learning institutions. While the actions and reactions towards these policy promulgations are of significance in this study, it is important to point out that it is primarily the people on the ground that are affected by the negative relations that ensue. So many stories have made rounds both in the official media and the grape vine of a government official (in most cases the school head) and the church representatives (in most cases the Priest in Charge or Mother Superior) locking horns as a result of policy incompatibility. The spill over of such scenarios has very negative implications downstream. It is in view of such a background that the researcher chose to interrogate this relationship. The research project l outlined the history of education in the country. Emphasis was placed on what roles were played by these two stakeholders in question. Some selected laws, ordinances and policies were scrutinized. The research was informed by the qualitative research paradigm. Critical Theory came in as the working theoretical framework. The research dispensed with descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling was done to catholic-run schools in the Archdiocese of Harare and most precisely those in Mashonaland East. Five schools constituted the sample. Each of the categories of the catholic schools was represented in the sample. Questionnaires and interviews were used as data capturing instruments. The researcher personally administered these instruments. The data captured was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Numerical figures were analysed and presented in graphs and tables. These were accompanied by some narratives. The main findings were articulated as themes and categories. The research questions were placed against the findings of the research. Possible answers and explanations were articulated. These helped inform the conclusion and the recommendations of the research project. It is an established fact that Catholic run schools have reservations on some of the government policies. What stuck out conspicuously are the recruitment and promotion procedures and most of the provisions of S I 87 of 1992. Ironically, most of the catholic schools do not have written down policies to guide them on these issues of concern.