Zimbabwe faces a growing shortage of male teachers in its classrooms

Official statistics from the Primary and Secondary Education ministry and recent graduation reports from teacher training institutions confirm this structural reality. For instance, at United College of Education in Bulawayo, only 8.1% of a graduating class of 505 teachers were men. Similarly, Seke Teachers’ College reported 621 female graduates compared to 41 males, and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic saw 132 women graduate in primary teaching alongside just eight men.

Nationally, male representation is critically low in Early Childhood Development, where female teachers outnumber males nearly four to one. Educationists, including Sifiso Ndlovu, CEO of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association, suggest that young men are increasingly emigrating or opting out of civil service for more viable economic alternatives. The article argues that men are making rational economic calculations due to stagnant formal employment, the high cost of living, and the stigmatization of teaching.

To address this, the Primary and Secondary Education ministry, in collaboration with the Higher and Tertiary Education ministry and the Public Service Commission, should implement interventions such as incentivizing ECD and primary specialization with bursaries and hardship allowanc