Out of touch, heartless or simply irresponsible?

We report elsewhere in this publication of the deplorable situation at Zimbabwe’s public schools where generally everything is in disarray.

Students that should be in the classroom, rather exam room, are being locked out and parents are running around like headless chickens unable to resolve the situation, sometimes due to circumstances beyond their control.
These children were affected by the coronavirus pandemic in March when schools were forced to prematurely close. Just as they were preparing to re-open – they were again forced to endure abnormal conditions as teachers declared incapacitation.

All this while, Government was forging ahead with plans not just for the full re-opening of schools but writing of the mid-year and end of year exams which are managed by the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec).
As if on cue, Covid-19 cases have also spiked in Zimbabwe just as the schools fully re-open and exams begin.

But these are not the only problems the already stressed poor children of this country have had to endure – they are being locked out of classrooms and by extension exam rooms on account of failing to pay either school or examination fees.

The disruptions are just enormous.
These children should be going through counselling sessions, but Government is driving them into an exam where schools are chasing them away. They find themselves, young and innocent as they are, between the deep sea and the devil.
No wonder a significant number has dropped out of school.

One wonders whether the decisions by our Government are made by people who are simply out of touch with reality, are ignorant or it is a case of just pure heartlessness.

The decision makers’ children are in private schools. They studied online since March and are ready for exams. No private school has been shut down.

On the other hand, problems at public schools where potable water is a problem while basic personal protective equipment is out of the reach of many, continue to mount.
But all this is not even the crux of the matter.
The real issue is how the Government of Emmerson Mnangagwa has continued to ignore calls by parents, teachers and even Parliamentarians for real actionable policies to be undertaken in order to restore Zimbabwe’s education system to its rightful place.
A Government that cares about its people would not turn a blind eye while poor kids are attending school blissfully ignorant of their Covid-19 status or that of their fellow student, teacher or staffer.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education – if it cared – would not ignore the plight of children that have been locked out of classrooms when, in fact, they should be sitting for exams.
In Tuesday’s Cabinet briefing, it was announced, in passing and almost as an afterthought, that “schools will remain open only if they adhere to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)”.

Surely, if someone in Government had done even half the job they are expected to, they would know that a huge chunk of schools, 70 percent according to the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, lack capacity to adhere to the SOP.
However, what is clear is that instead of worrying about the state of the education sector, about the kids that have been affected not just by Covid-19 but the poverty that has accompanied it – our Government is more concerned with how the stories are being reported.
“The media is urged to report responsibly on the situation prevailing in primary and secondary schools … This will avoid undue alarm and despondency caused by the uncoordinated reportage witnessed since the re-opening of schools.”

Mnangagwa and his team are either heartless, out of touch or downright irresponsible. Either way, Zimbabwe’s education sector needs an urgent intervention to save it from complete collapse. Nhau/Indaba