Citizen Engagement for Enhanced Accountability in Africa Rural School Fees Expenditure in Zimbabwe Case Study By Joy Ch

1. Citizen Engagement for Enhanced Accountability in Africa Rural School Fees Expenditure in Zimbabwe Case Study By Joy Chidavaenzi

2. Basic Information • Intervention Rural School Fees Monitoring • Intervening Agent Centre for Total Transformation • Location Mazoe District, Zimbabwe • Goal Promoting quality education and general welfare of rural children

3. Sequence of Events • Bursar or School Accounts clerk office • School Head involvement • Education Officer involvement • Community apathy

4. Background • Initiative is a result of reports and complaints by parents, teachers, students and school heads • Inadequate Financial Controls and auditing procedures • Misappropriation of funds • Failure to pay staff salaries • High staff turnover • Inadequate educational facilities and resources • Poor record keeping • Parents being taken advantage of by school authorities

5. Objectives of the Initiative To educate and empower communities on their rights to: • information and participation in schools administration • demand accountability and transparency from school authorities and local councils • be part of decision making process. • Dismiss undesirable school staff

6. Tools and Methodologies • Baseline surveys • Focused target group discussions • Workshops on school budgeting and expenditures • Community score cards and report cards • Structured interviews with the school heads • Community based Participatory Performance Monitoring

7. Training Training of Community members • Transparency • Accountability • Budgeting and public expenditure • Roles, responsibilities and rights of school committees • Terms of reference • Monitoring and evaluation team with written reports going to District Councils, Local Leaders and Ministry of Education

8. Advocacy Activities • Regular SA awareness meetings and workshops with stakeholders • Community theatres against corruption. • Local media. • Open community forum with the Member of Parliament and Provincial Governor

9. Possible Obstacles • Perpetrators usually related to some community members • People may think that whistle blowing is not morally right • Lack of jointly developed Code of Conduct for school authorities • Bureaucratic dismissal process • School head rejected at one school relocated to another • fear of witchcraft

10. Results and Impact • Reduction in corruption cases. • Sense of ownership of the local schools and education in general by community members • Development and strengthening of school development committees (SDCs) or parent/teacher associations (PTAs) with proper Terms of Reference. • Improved quality of education. • Improved educational infrastructure • Establishment of Child Protection Working Group

11. Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) • Stakeholders • Parents/guardians • Local rural councils • Church leaders • Traditional leaders (chiefs and headmen) • Students / Youth • Local Member of Parliament • Provincial Governor • Parents Teacher Associations (PTA) • Other partners with interest in education.

12. Terms of Reference for the CPWG • Budget and expenditure monitoring • Recommend dismissal of undesired staff • Fundraising • School development monitoring • Child abuse awareness campaigns • Setting up of reporting systems • Promoting children’s rights

13. Joy Chidavaenzi 23 Kew Drive, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe Telephone: 263 4 496709 263 4 442544 Mobile: 263 91 247 929 E-mail: joy@africaonline.co.zw