Abstract:

The migration of teachers from Commonwealth countries in the South to countries in the North captured sufficient attention to warrant the development of a Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol (2004) and the constituting of a Commonwealth Council on Mobility and Migration of Teachers (2010). But the South-South migration of teachers has not garnered much international interest until recently. Whilst there has been a plethora of studies undertaken in South Africa, highlighting the plight of unskilled Zimbabweans, eager to earn a living, there is a dearth of research unpacking South Africa (SA) as a receiving country for migrant teachers. This article addresses the current gap in the literature by addressing the migration of Zimbabwean education professionals. This article draws from an ethnographic study undertaken in 2011 to understand the nature of Zimbabwean education professionals’ migration to SA. This article utilizes data from thirteen semi structured interviews with Zimbabwean education professionals located in Kwa Zulu-Natal, SA. The findings illuminate 2 cohorts of education professionals in the sample: teachers and lecturers. They were exiting Zimbabwe for multiple interrelated reasons. The most frequent reasons were the economic situation in Zimbabwe coupled with the current political climate which had a ripple impact on education opportunities. Migrants’ experiences in SA included a complex process in acquiring documentation to enter SA’s labour market, poor remuneration packages, difficulty in acquiring job security, xenophobic attitudes and workplace exploitation. This economic and psychological vulnerability had bearing on migrants’ meeting their family responsibilities as majority were occupying the role of head of household and living transnational lives. A common thread amongst Zimbabwean education professionals was that qualifications and expertise did not provide them with easy access into the professional domain in SA; they had to settle for less professionally and some for naught by virtue of being non-citizens. This paper culminates by providing some suggestions to the SA government and department of education in supporting the migration of education professionals to SA to fill a critical skills gap in the labour market.

Keywords:

Zimbabwean education professionals, South Africa, remuneration, job security, xenophobia, workplace exploitation.