The Obligation of School Development Committees in Teacher Retention in Buhera District Primary Schools in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe

The study was carried out to establish the obligation which School Development Committees (SDCs) could play in school development to achieve sustainable teacher retention in their schools. The research design used in this study is a mixed research design; it incorporated both the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The population consisted of twenty five heads, fifty SDC members and seventy five senior teachers making a total of one hundred and fifty respondents that were used for the study. The research instruments were questionnaire, interview, and document study. The key activities for SDCs revolved around continuous teacher motivation. Motivational factors found to retain teachers among others were the provision of suitable living conditions for the teachers, the provision of teachers’ professional support and the availability of conducive teacher/community relationships. The implementation of all these was seen to be the obligation of effective and skilful SDCs.