Zimbabwe is facing one of the most severe droughts that has been brought on by the lack of rain induced by El Nino global weather patterns. Journalists covering the nation’s education crisis face unprecedented challenges. With schools struggling to provide basic resources and students forced to abandon their studies to help their families, reporters are on the frontlines, documenting the stark reality of a country on the brink of educational struggles brought up by the wave of drought in different areas of Zimbabwe.
The ongoing drought has resulted in the destruction of crops, leaving many rural communities without their primary source of income and food. In areas like Buhera district, Masvingo and Matabeleland, schools have seen a dramatic drop in attendance as children are sent to fetch water or work in fields that yield increasingly sparse harvests.
A report from the Herald, April 2024. Highlighted at Zaka Primary School in Masvingo, many students depend on school-provided meals as their primary source of nutrition, but the drought has led to crop failures, leaving schools unable to sustain their feeding programmes.
Journalists attempting to cover these stories often find themselves in remote locations, dealing with the same harsh conditions as the residents they are reporting on. Shorai Murwira, an award-winning environmental and climate change female journalist in Zimbabwe, revealed that:
The absence of clean water has forced the closure of several schools. “The situation is dire,” she added. “Teachers are unable to conduct classes because there is no water for sanitation, and students are too hungry to focus on their studies.”
At Zaka Primary School in Masvingo, students are forced to bring their own water from home, which is often a long and arduous task that interferes with their education. Teachers at this school report a sharp decline in attendance and performance, as children are too exhausted or sick to focus on their studies.

However, the efforts to bring these stories to the public are becoming harder, with the education sector being particularly one of the several sectors affected within Zimbabwe. Journalists tasked with covering these stories from both private and public media companies are facing significant challenges as they strive to bring the crisis to light for the public.
Journalists face significant personal, financial, social, and political risks in reporting from drought-stricken areas like Ngundu Village in Chivi District, Muchena, Nyasunzi, and Chosamba Villages, Villages who are some of the parts affected by drought, hence making the flow of news and inflammation increasingly limited.

“Journalists have found it hard to travel long distances from Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, to the areas of Chiredzi, which have been greatly affected by drought, primarily due to the poor transport systems and the place being almost 300km from urban areas. This makes journalists require a lot of funds to facilitate their movements, hence ending up not covering such stories,” Murwira says.
In a government led by President Emmerson Mnangangwa, Murwira also adds that some journalists have faced the wrath of seeing their drought and environmental related stories being politicized regardless of working hard to address the issues brought up by this ongoing challenge.

The prominent environment journalist, who runs a blog, also revealed that financial obstacles faced by those reporting on the drought and its impact on education are increasingly high. “We are struggling with inadequate payment, which makes it difficult to cover the costs of travel, accommodation, and other expenses necessary to do our jobs effectively.”.
To overcome such barriers, journalists have had to adopt innovative approaches. Some have resorted to using social media platforms to gather information and share stories more widely. Community engagement has also become a key strategy, with journalists relying on local contacts and citizen reporters to provide updates from hard-to-reach areas.
Despite these obstacles, committed journalists continue to shed light on the educational crisis, revealing how the drought compounds existing issues of poverty and underfunding in Zimbabwe’s educational sector.