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Earn-and-learn: case study of a private sector initiative
Posted on 23-10-2008
The story of Caiphas Chihlajo, Tanganda Tea Estates, Zimbabwe
Caiphas Chihlajo left his native rural area when he was eight years old. His unemployed parents decided to look for a job in the Tanganda Tea Estates, a large farm in the southeast Zimbabwe that provides people with jobs, accommodation and health care.
It also offers education to the youngest living on the farm, be they workers or their children. The so-called “Earn-and-learn” scheme is a unique model, not to be found anywhere else in the whole country, its origins dating back to 1935.
While Caiphas´ parents were working on the farm, he attended school and learned how to read and write and plenty more.
At the age of 15 he started working on the farm, too. A typical weekday would mean work from 5:30 till 11:00 a.m., then lunch, a little break and school until late afternoon.
“It was difficult at times, I cannot deny that,” says Caiphas. “Some children just could not cope up with the demanding schedule and dropped out.”
Caiphas didn´t. Scoring high results, he went on to get a higher degree education in teaching and eventually became a teacher-in-charge at the Tanganda Tea Estates.
Mixed bag
There is a mixed bag of children coming to the Tanganda Tea Estates. Some have a similar background as Caiphas, coming along with their parents from poor and underdeveloped areas, some come alone as orphans or just trying to escape the extreme poverty, leaving their parents behind.
“Some of the kids would have ended up out of school, illiterate and probably working for little pay,” says Francis Chingono, Human Resources Manager of the Tanganda Tea Estates.
And yet, suspicions remain over the scheme, which claims strict adherence to the existing law banning child labour, but cannot guarantee the same on the part of its prospective workers.
Mr. Chingono himself admits there have been a few cases of kids younger than 15 “slipping through” the system and getting employment at the farm in the past. The parents had faked their birth certificates or declarations in lieu of these, explains Mr. Chingono.
The curriculum of the Tanganda schools (both primary and secondary level) is the same like in state schools. That is the condition of the current government. The company also provides special training courses for those who want to stay and work in the farm. No school fees are paid in Tanganda as long as the student works in the farm.
The earn-and-learn scheme has produced a long line of luminaries including a member of parliament. Education in the Tanganda Tea Estate has certainly changed Caiphas´ life too. There he found a job and met his wife and together they are now raising a 3.5 year old baby girl.
The story of Caiphas Chihlajo, Tanganda Tea Estates, Zimbabwe
Caiphas Chihlajo left his native rural area when he was eight years old. His unemployed parents decided to look for a job in the Tanganda Tea Estates, a large farm in the southeast Zimbabwe that provides people with jobs, accommodation and health care.
It also offers education to the youngest living on the farm, be they workers or their children. The so-called “Earn-and-learn” scheme is a unique model, not to be found anywhere else in the whole country, its origins dating back to 1935.
While Caiphas´ parents were working on the farm, he attended school and learned how to read and write and plenty more.
At the age of 15 he started working on the farm, too. A typical weekday would mean work from 5:30 till 11:00 a.m., then lunch, a little break and school until late afternoon.
“It was difficult at times, I cannot deny that,” says Caiphas. “Some children just could not cope up with the demanding schedule and dropped out.”
Caiphas didn´t. Scoring high results, he went on to get a higher degree education in teaching and eventually became a teacher-in-charge at the Tanganda Tea Estates.
Mixed bag
There is a mixed bag of children coming to the Tanganda Tea Estates. Some have a similar background as Caiphas, coming along with their parents from poor and underdeveloped areas, some come alone as orphans or just trying to escape the extreme poverty, leaving their parents behind.
“Some of the kids would have ended up out of school, illiterate and probably working for little pay,” says Francis Chingono, Human Resources Manager of the Tanganda Tea Estates.
And yet, suspicions remain over the scheme, which claims strict adherence to the existing law banning child labour, but cannot guarantee the same on the part of its prospective workers.
Mr. Chingono himself admits there have been a few cases of kids younger than 15 “slipping through” the system and getting employment at the farm in the past. The parents had faked their birth certificates or declarations in lieu of these, explains Mr. Chingono.
The curriculum of the Tanganda schools (both primary and secondary level) is the same like in state schools. That is the condition of the current government. The company also provides special training courses for those who want to stay and work in the farm. No school fees are paid in Tanganda as long as the student works in the farm.
The earn-and-learn scheme has produced a long line of luminaries including a member of parliament. Education in the Tanganda Tea Estate has certainly changed Caiphas´ life too. There he found a job and met his wife and together they are now raising a 3.5 year old baby girl.
