An Assessment of the provision of School Textbooks in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The provision of textbooks is important in the overall education system of a country hence a major component of national development. Textbooks are required for teaching and learning, consequently it is important to ensure that they are sustainably provided. Zimbabwean schools experienced a dire shortage of textbooks due to the dwindling funds for grants caused by hyper-inflation resulting in UNICEF purchasing and donating only core textbooks to schools. Shortages still exist in the other subject areas thus this study sought to explore the ways in which textbooks could be provided to schools in Zimbabwe on a sustainable basis. The aim of the study was to investigate the provision of textbooks to schools in Zimbabwe with a view of proposing sustainable strategies for the industry in order to improve the situation. The objectives of the study were to examine the current state of textbook provision in schools in Zimbabwe in line with the desired quantity in order to verify the gap in provision; establish the sources of funds for the purchase of textbooks in relation to the desired sources; examine the procurement procedures for schools textbooks versus the desired; examine policies or legislation that are in place to support textbook provision in Zimbabwe in relation to the ideal policy framework; determine the challenges faced by stakeholders in providing textbooks to schools on a sustainable basis and to propose strategies for providing textbooks to schools as a solution to sustainable textbook provision. The Needs Assessment Theory was adopted for this study which emphasised the gap between what is ideal and what is real in relation to textbook provision in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a mixed methods approach and an exploratory survey design was used. The study population of 7953 consisted of school heads in Zimbabwe, staff at the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association, the Booksellers Association of Zimbabwe, the textbook publishing houses and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. The study used judgemental, stratified and convenience sampling to come up with a sample size of 111. Data was collected using interviews and questionnaires and presented as well as analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The major findings of the study were that there are not enough textbooks in schools in Zimbabwe because funding of school textbooks provision was inadequate even though procurement procedures were adequate, efficient as well as effective and that policies in support of provision of schools textbooks were not existent and there were various challenges faced by stakeholders in providing textbooks. Recommendations included the government formulating and enacting a National Book Policy; parents buying textbooks for their children as well as government funds for the purchase of textbooks being raised and availed on time.