Nhau News Online News that is accurate, reliable, trustworthy!!
- Cases continue to rocket
- Schools teeter on brink of closure
- Sickly economy can’t shutdown
- Parents withhold children from school
As it increasingly becomes clear that Zimbabwe is in the grip of another wave of Covid-19 – President Mnangagwa and his Cabinet find themselves at sixes and sevens.
On Tuesday, Cabinet resolved to shutdown schools that do not have testing capacity in the event of suspected cases of Covid-19.
This is despite the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) final exams for Grade 7, O and A-Level candidates being just weeks away and attendance by students at all levels in schools way below par.
Grade 7 pupils are expected to sit for the public exams in December together with A-Level candidates while O-Level examinations are expected to spill into January 2021.
Since re-opening in September after Government relaxed lockdown restrictions, schools have aired their concerns over lack of preparedness to curb the spread of the virus.
A teacher at St Vincent School in Ruwa said the school only received a pair of gumboots, 500ml of hand sanitiser and 60 face masks which can barely cover the exam classes.
This left schools with no option but to turn to parents to supply the required PPE, a development that largely affects schools in poor communities.
In addition to lack of resources and preparedness, teachers refused to return to work over remuneration, something that saw students going unmonitored, creating a conducive environment for delinquency and Covid-19 to spread in schools.
Addressing the 41st post Cabinet briefing in Harare Tuesday, chairperson of the Covid-19 Inter-Ministerial Taskforce, Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, announced the latest measures which have left both parents and teachers in a state of confusion.
“To ensure that schools do not become flashpoints for the spread of Covid-19, Cabinet resolved that where Covid-19 cases are suspected in schools without adequate testing facilities, these schools should be immediately closed in order to allow for testing of all pupils and only those who test negative return to school,” she said.
“Schools with adequate facilities may continue lessons while testing proceeds and those who test positive are excluded.”
This followed reports that 100 pupils had tested positive for coronavirus at John Tallach Secondary School in Matabeleland North while at Chinhoyi University of Technology, seven students had reportedly tested positive as well.
Besides testing inadequacies, which are surely set to force a large number of public schools to discontinue classes – attendance by both learners and teachers at schools has been underwhelming.
According to Tuesday’s post-Cabinet briefing: “In the primary and secondary education sector, learner attendance statistics stand as follows: Phase 1 (final examination classes), 51.5 percent; Phase 2 (Grade 6, Form 3 and Lower 6th Form), 35.3 percent; and Phase 3 (ECD, Grade1, 2,3,4,5 Form 1and 2), 24.6 percent.
“Teacher attendance has remained below optimal level with the overall teacher attendance for the week standing at 30 percent, compared to 25.7 percent recorded last week”.
The stats above and the decision by Cabinet to close schools without capacity to test, means learning institutions in poor communities will continue to be prejudiced. Which is probably why some parents are opting to keep their children at home, even though teachers recently agreed to go back to work.
“We kept our children at home since March, what’s the rush now when our schools are clearly not equipped to curb the spread of Covid-19,” said Jennifer Sakurombe, parent to a Grade 2 student.
“I will keep my child at home until it’s safe for him to return to school.”
Though the country’s biggest teachers union Zimta has ordered its members back to work after a 41 percent salary increase, other unions are still holding their ground claiming incapacitation.
Part of their major concerns besides poor remuneration is lack of PPE for their members.
“Our members are not yet back at work as they are still incapacitated and cannot risk contracting Covid-19. We are not only concerned about our members’ welfare but also their health and the health of their families,” said Takavafira Zhou, Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president.
“We have always said that the 800 million budgeted to equip schools did not filter to schools as evidenced by the lack of resources on the ground.”
Zhou said most schools would close down if pupils were to test positive for the virus.
“…85 percent of the schools do not have enough resources to curb Covid-19 let alone adequate testing equipment.
“Government should procure the equipment and distribute it to all schools, instead of the current situation where schools are begging or forcing parents to pay for the equipment,” said Zhou.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) also added their voice: “Schools are failing to meet the Covid-19 Standard Operation Procedures because of under-funding. This is a time bomb. Big decisions have to be made.”
On Wednesday, Parliamentarians accused Mnangagwa’s Government of rushing to open schools when it was ill-prepared.
“The chairperson of the Covid-19 taskforce, Oppah Muchinguri, said there are enough resources to deal with the pandemic, but it is my submission that we cannot continue, and Government cannot risk people’s lives because after school, those children will go and play with other kids.
“Why have you gone on to open schools when we do not have enough resources? Why risk when we do not have enough resources?” said Norton MP Temba Mliswa. Nhau/Indaba
