Middle East & Africa | Economics lessons

Why Zimbabwe’s schools have taken to selling chickens

A collapsing education system means head teachers must get creative

HARARE, ZIMBABWE - JANUARY 27: A teacher and students are seen during a lesson at a classroom of the makeshift schools to access affordable school lessons as they contend with a comatose national economy in Harare, Zimbabwe on January 27, 2020. Scores of pupils have no choice but to drop government or council schools in the southern African country as school fees have been shooting up now and then amid galloping inflation. As a way out, they turned to attending courses at makeshift schools to evade the astronomical fees. (Photo by Wilfred Kajese/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) — The next lesson is counting chickensImage: Getty Images

Jan 19th 2023|GOROMONZI

The job of a head teacher involves hiring teachers, disciplining pupils and placating parents. It does not normally include selling chickens. But that was one of several side-hustles run by Evermore Chakwizira, who until last year was the head of Chinyika High School in Goromonzi, 40km (25 miles) east of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Since 2019 his school has sold hundreds of chicks a week at the local market. During the covid-19 pandemic, when children were at home, fluffy poults took up residence in the classrooms.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Cluck-cluck economics”