Lecturers from Government universities are earning average salaries of $25 000 a month beginning February this year and this has shocked many civil servants including primary and secondary school teachers who are earning less than one eighth of that amount at $3 000.
The Mirror obtained the figures from several lecturers who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The lowest paid lecturer is getting $19 000 and the highest who is the Vice Chancellor earns $55 000. Lecturers at most universities have a first degree and a Masters and these are qualifications that are common in many secondary and primary schools.
Teachers said there is no qualifications gap between them and lecturers and insisted that teachers were actual professionals.
The new lecturers’ salaries are also way above medical doctors who earn $6 000 a month.
The irony is that it takes around US$210 000 to train a medical doctor and an average US$15 000 for one to study for a general degree until one gets a doctorate, said a human resources expert who declined to be named.
“The Zimbabwe Government has no scientific way of determining salaries. There is no job evaluation. This is thumb suck,” said the human resources expert.
The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira said he is not allowed to disclose specific salaries but described University lecturers’ salaries as very, very good.
He said he was now working on improving salaries for Polytechnic lecturers through the creation of a Tertiary Education Council (TEC) which will come through a Bill.
He said in future Universities will have to sustain their salaries through production.
“We want the colleges and universities to become productive and their salaries will depend on the level of productivity at each institution,” he said.
The lecturers are not getting payslips for their new salaries.
Zimbabwe Progressive Teachers’ Union president Takavafira Zhou said while they welcome the lectures’ salaries there is need to ensure that teachers are accorded decent wages.
Nurses are getting a basic salary of $RTGS4 000 and Covid-19 allowance of $RTGS1 500, senior doctors are getting $RTGS6 000 basic and $RTGS3 000 Covid-19 allowance. Doctors get a Higherlife allowance of about $RTGS10 000 per month.
Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights secretary general, Dr Norman Matara said civil servants salaries were poor across the board. He blamed the Health Services Board for failing to negotiate decent salaries on behalf of its members.
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