Teachers organizations have expressed mixed feelings over government’s directive to order schools to re-open.
In an interview with Hevoi FM News, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, president Takavafira Zhou called the government move ‘an ambush’ on teachers and parents who will struggle to pay the required school fees.
“This is surely an ambush, a day after the government had even enunciated an extension of lockdown for two weeks which ordinarily entailed that the issue of opening of schools would be determined after two weeks,”said Zhou.
“Our projection as Ptuz was to the effect that schools could open around September payday taking advantage of hot temperatures and more vaccination to contribute to the decline of COVID-19 cases and giving the government adequate time to provide covid abatement equipment to schools, let alone providing running water to many schools.
It was also our hope that schools would open after the government would have addressed the quandary of teachers’ starvation wage,”added Zhou.
On the other hand Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer, Sifso Ndlovu welcomed government move and called for massive vaccination of learners teachers.
“The government’s move was inevitable and we welcome it with open hands as pupils and students are behind time.We are however calling on government to ensure that mechanisms are put in place to vaccinate teachers and learners to contain the pandemic,”he said. Government on Wednesday said examination classes would open on 30 August 2021, while non-examination classes would open on 6 September.
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