The social impact of the Zimbabwean crisis on access and quality of education: Examining teachers’ unruly practices in rural secondary schools

The crisis in Zimbabwe manifested itself in serious challenges in the education sector as a whole. However, rural schools have been the worst affected. Political intimidation and persecution of teachers resulted in mass exodus of teachers and closure of schools in 2008. Hyperinflation rendered the teachers’ salaries worthless. Since then, the crisis is far from being over although there is now political stability. Rural teachers have been demoralised by poor remuneration and lack of motivation. In trying to adapt to the poor working conditions, teachers adopt a range of practices, some of which are adverse to access and quality of education. The paper focuses on the impact of the crisis on access and quality of education in the context of teachers’ unruly practices.