Legal Analysis and Proposed Amendments of the Education Amendment Bill and the Education Act

/Introduction

Zimbabwe enacted a new Constitution in 2013. Section 2 of that Constitution provides for the supremacy of the Constitution. The section makes any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with the Constitution invalid to the extent of the inconsistency. It is therefore imperative to review other laws to ensure compliance with the Constitution. Zimbabwe is also a State Party to many international treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). These create an obligation on Zimbabwe to align its laws with the international legal framework.

The Government of Zimbabwe is in the process of aligning the Education Act [Chapter 25:04] (the Act) to the Constitution. The Education Amendment Bill, 2019 (the Bill) was drafted and published in the Government Gazette of 15 February 2019. The Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI) commissioned a legal analysis of the Bill and the Act and the drafting of proposed amendments of the Act which resulted in this report that is to be submitted to the Parliament of Zimbabwe for consideration.

Purpose of this Report

The report presents:

a) a legal analysis of the Education Amendment Bill and the Education Act which identifies issues that were omitted and sections that need to be repealed or amended for them to be in line with the national, regional and international human rights frameworks.

b) proposed amendments, in a legal language, to the Education Act to be included in the Bill.

Source: Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI)

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