By Job Mbizi | Nehanda Harare Bureau |
Zimbabwean church pastors have blasted Education Minister Lazarus Dokora over the imposition of a “national pledge” in schools as part of the new curriculum, describing the move as evil.
Last month Dokora announced that all school children would, from next term, be expected to recite the “national pledge”.
The pupils will recite, “Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag. Respecting the brave fathers and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/Umvukela.
“We are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources. We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures. So I commit to honesty and the dignity of hard work.”
Dokora also said schoolchildren would recite the pledge as a way of engendering a sense of national pride in them.
However in a statement on Thursday, Pastor Tapfumaneyi Zenda, chairman of Christian Voice International Zimbabwe (CVIZ), a coalition of Pastors from different denominations denounced the national pledge as evil as it infringes on our “faith as Christians.”
“The bible does not allow us to make an oath to any human being living or dead moreso the oath is being involuntarily imposed on our children,” said Zenda .
“This is an indirect way of making our children worship the dead in the name of instilling patriotism. We therefore urge the minister and government to direct his efforts on developing the education curriculum and solving problems bedeviling teachers at
the moment,” he added.
The churches call comes as Tendai Biti the People’s Democratic Party leader, who is also a lawyer, blasted the national pledge, offering to take up the matter in the courts if someone comes forward to challenge it.
Biti added: “All fascist regimes do that. Adolf Hitler (former German dictator) forced people to do the same.”
Main opposition MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu also rejected Dokora’s pledge saying Zimbabwe cannot have a national pledge that is totally out of sync with the dictates of our founding values and principles as a nation.
