3. How does the existing resource demand influence the remote rural ECD school management?
5.2 Remote rural ECD schools’ responses to resource demand
5.2.3 Human resources
There were three categories of teachers manning the ECD classes in the schools, namely the ECD trained teachers, para-professionals and the seconded primary trained teachers. While ECD trained teachers were those teachers who were accredited by the Ministry of Education through teachers‟ colleges and universities, para-professionals were individuals who were employed by the SDCs to man ECD classes. Participants raised concern that these para- professionals had varying qualifications that start from at least three „O‟ levels and the lowest qualification was unidentified. This indicated a very low quality of the teacher, whose qualifications were not even identified, making them unsuitable to teach these children. This was how one other school deputy head described the para-professionals:
We have one para-professional, an Ordinary level holder and a helper whose qualifications are not even identified. The two are managing the 94 pupils at this school (Mungwezi School Deputy Head).
The third group of teachers who were teaching the ECD children in these remote rural ECD schools were the seconded qualified teachers. These teachers were not trained to teach ECD but in most cases they were „infant‟ teachers. This category of teachers was the TICs who were seconded due to their flair for teaching infant classes. Most of the participants indicated that these seconded teachers had very little knowledge in ECD matters which made them unsuitable to teach these children. This is how one of the school heads described them:
Seconded teachers are primary school trained teachers who are seconded to teach the ECD children. E. g. if we have an interested teacher; he/she by the permission of the district education office, can be transferred to teach the ECD children. This secondment is done through a recommendation by the school head. It is like our TIC, she was trained to teach infant grades but now she has been seconded to teach ECD through my recommendation (Vukosi School Head).
While the participants showed that ECD trained teachers were still few in schools, EMIS data indicates that in 2013 only two schools had one ECD trained teachers each, while the rest depended on para-professionals. The general impression from the aforementioned data is that ECD trained teachers were very few in the schools. This was further corroborated by one of the school heads:
We should get more than 5 trained teachers for ECD but I once consulted the District office requesting for another trained teacher, the District Education Officer (DEO) said; ‘we have to serve other schools to get qualified teachers first, before we can give you an extra teacher’. We are very fortunate; I do not know about other schools in this area. I think they don’t even have one ECD qualified teacher like we do (Muzorori School Head).
The employment of para-professionals to teach ECD children is supported by UNICEF (2010) stipulating that the situation in most countries is that the number of ECD trained teachers is still insignificant. This is further supported by Frederick (2011), Mugweni (2011) and Rao (2010) who acknowledge the employment of para-professionals in many countries due to the shortage of ECD trained teachers. This is also supported by the Zimbabwe Statutory Instrument (106 of 2005) authorising the SDCs to employ the para-professionals to teach the ECD children. However, though the general impression by participants was that the District Education Officers are committed to posting, at most, one ECD trained teacher at every school, before posting the second one; the remote rural staffing pattern is emancipated by Lyons (2006) positing that attracting teachers to remote rural schools has presented a challenge for education departments for years (Mugweni, 2011) and remote rural ECD schools continue to suffer in paying the para-professionals yet ECD trained teachers are in over-supply in urban ECD schools.
Although the suitability of teacher was being compromised in these schools, it was noted that the schools had teachers to teach the children. It was noted again that rarely could a remote rural ECD school have more than one ECD trained teacher; they were supplemented by seconded primary trained teachers and the para-professionals. It was confirmed that seconded teachers and para-professionals had no expertise in teaching ECD. Thus, the aforementioned responses showed that teachers were accessible but were not suitable to teach ECD classes.
This was confirmed by one of the school heads:
Our TIC and the para-professionals are not trained to teach ECD so they end up confusing the ECD children for deeper content (Vukosi School Head).
The aforementioned scenario of having untrained teachers in the ECD classes is discouraged by Zhao and Gao (2008) stating that ECD teacher training must be more formalised and specialised for the realisation of the EFA and MDGs (UNESCO‟s EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2006) where we have the international formalisation of ECD through different policies in different countries the world over. It is in the same vein that ARNEC (2011) and UNESCO (2012) are sounding the importance of skills training for quality lesson delivery.
Udommana (2012) and UNESCO (2012) emphasise the need for each country to set a standard for the level of training with the argument that teaching these little children is a delicate adventure that needs expertise on the part of the teacher to improve child-teacher interaction. This scenario of unskilled teachers teaching the ECD children have the Invitational and Transformational Theories bringing in the idea of schools developing professional learning communities in order to develop teaching skills and knowledge among teachers (Deiner, 2010; Haigh, 2011; Pedder & Opfer, 2011; Bush & Middlewood, 2013;
Shields, 2011; Hickman, 2010). This is presented in a model given by Steyn (2005) which influence teacher professional development in schools (See Section 3.1).
5.2.3.1 Teacher-Pupil ratio or class size
The impression given by the participants was ECD teachers were inadequate in the schools, whether trained or untrained. Teacher-pupil ratio or the class size means how many children learn under the guidance of one teacher. This emerged when the participants were asked about their school ECD enrolments and the teacher establishment in this particular
department. The participants claimed that they could not employ adequate teachers since these teachers were paid by the parents. This is what one of the participants had to say:
Each teacher is supposed to teach 20 children but here this policy does not work.
Each teacher has nearly 40 children, double the expected teacher/pupil ratio. It is done deliberately; only one teacher out of the four is trained and is paid by the ministry. The three para-professionals are paid by the SDC from the levies that are paid by the parents. So the more children we attach to the teacher, the more the money we have to pay these para-professionals (Muzorori School Head).
Although it was clear from the participants that policy stipulation on teacher-pupil ratio should operate at 1:20, this was not the state of the play in all the case study schools. This contradicted with the Statutory Instrument 12 of 2005 which stipulates a teacher to pupil ratio of 1: 20. These school heads had a reason for having large classes, they deliberately moved away from the policy stipulation to fundraise for the para-professionals allowances. Most school heads also appeared to accept the idea of keeping large class size in order to raise funds for the para-professionals allowances. They believed that, without national school funding, schools could not endorse the teacher-pupil ratio stipulated by the ministry policy because they needed money to pay the para-professionals. Hence, the participants adopted the idea of over-crowding children in order to have enough money to pay the para-professionals.
This is what one of the school heads had to say:
The SDC was supposed to employ four of these para-professionals but due to the unavailability of funds, we agreed to take three and raise the teacher-pupil ratio in order to pay their salaries (Goko School Head).
The evidence from the EMIS documents corroborates this story by indicating that most study site schools had over-crowded classes above the stipulated teacher-pupil ratio. According to the aforementioned data, participants were concerned with the number of para-professionals they pay as compared to the number of children paying the money. Consequently, the idea of large class sizes was contrary to the findings of the studies by UNICEF (2008) and UNESCO (2009) putting the global average teacher-pupil ratio at 1:21. The statutory instrument (12 of 2005) stipulates 1: 20 teacher-pupil ratio in ECD classes.
From the responses mentioned above and EMIS data, it was apparent that the schools had desisted from the main objective of providing suitable education to the learners which was contrary to the reasons given in the following researches: UNESCO (2010) is indicating the benefits of smaller class sizes. Montie et al. (2006) and Naudeau et al. (2011) conducted research which shows that small class sizes have a positive influence on child development.
The reasons given by the participants on over-crowding children to fund-raise for para- professionals‟ allowances is supported by SEAMEO INNOTECH (2011) who asserts that schools should maintain teachers‟ individual needs, so as to retain the teachers and motivate them to get the best out of them. This was supported by Doherty et al. (2006) who posit that a teacher‟s wellbeing has a bearing on the quality of education provided to the ECD children.
Similarly, the transformational/invitational leaders (Burns, 2007; Bush, 2010) respond to the individual needs of their followers for effective service delivery. However, it is argued that these school leaders are taking advantage of the children to motivate their teachers.