ZIMBABWE began a major distribution of textbooks and other learning materials as schools opened this week – the result of a partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund.

All the country’s 5,575 primary schools will receive textbooks for core subjects, bringing the pupil-textbook ratio to 1:1, down from the current one textbook per 10 pupils, UNICEF said in a statement.

Recent statistics from the Education Ministry showed 20 percent of primary schools had no textbooks at all for English, Mathematics and local languages.

Education Minister David Coltart said Thursday: “This week children went back to school because of this visionary partnership between the inclusive government, international donor community and the UN.

“Children will go back to school with books and learning materials for the first time in years. It is a profound recognition that education is the foundation of Zimbabwe’s recovery.”

In the next three months, the Ministry hopes to disburse 12,000 tons of school supplies, including stationery and 13 million textbooks.

Some 20 percent of the textbooks are being printed in Zimbabwe and the remainder in other countries in Southern Africa. A supply chain will ensure that textbooks, stationery and other school supplies from the UNICEF distribution centre are distributed to 22 hubs across the country and further transported to every school, officials said.

“The distribution exercise we launch today is undoubtedly an enormous endeavour. Yet, we relish the challenge as it is a crucial first step to restoring Zimbabwe’s education system to its former glory as well as restoring the pride Zimbabweans have in educating their children,” said Peter Salama, UNICEF’s Representative in Zimbabwe.

The second phase of the US$70 million programme -- the first large-scale, external support to the education sector in the past decade -- will target secondary schools as well as focusing on providing teacher guides and textbooks for marginalised indigenous languages approved by the Education Ministry, as well as Braille texts for the visually impaired.