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Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
Government’s decision to hold online education is expected to be a relief for female pupils who fall pregnant as they will no longer be subjected to the stigma associated with attending lessons physically in their condition, legislators have noted.
Lawmakers said pregnant female pupils would simply have to go and write national examinations, courtesy of the opportunity arising from electronic learning.
This was said by Proportional Representative Member of Parliament, Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, while contributing to a joint portfolio committee report on ICT, Postal and Courier Services and Primary and Secondary Education on provision of online classes for learners during the Covid-19 pandemic period.
“If we deal with the issue of digitalisation, we may actually be able to address this increasing phenomenon that we saw with Covid-19 where a number of our girls got pregnant during the lockdown.
“We have had in this House, people that have issues with these kids coming back into school and the kids themselves being comfortable about going back to school.
“If e-learning is expanded and is given to circumstances where you are giving the pregnant girls an opportunity to learn while they are at home and they just come into school to write their exams, you are also dealing with the issues of stigma. So, the issue around e-learning and digitalisation, is crucial and important,” said Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
The Education Act which was promulgated last year provides that a pregnant girl should not be excluded from going to school on account of her condition.
Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who is also chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, called for an all stakeholder indaba on the provision of e-learning given the challenges related to resources.
“The indaba would also bring to the table the private sector.
“I think it is important that the private sector, particularly the banks because we know that if there is a sector that has posted at least some benefits and positive benefits for such in foreign currency, it has been the banks.
“It is important to bring the mining community on board so that we can begin to look at the kind of resource mobilisation that we need to do so that the sector can operate,” she said.
In presenting the portfolio committee report, Southerton MP, Mr Peter Moyo (MDC) said Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz)director general, Dr Gift Machengete indicated to them that through the Universal Services Fund, Potraz had been rolling out various e-learning projects to schools over the past years as a way of making ICT services universally accessible targeting under-serviced areas in the country.
“In March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, 570 computers were distributed to 575 schools. The schools were also connected to the internet.
“A total of 60 rural schools benefited under the Connect a School Connect a Community Project where at each school, 80 students received laptops, 10 tutor laptops, students and tutor desks and chairs, two projectors and screens, power supplies and solar panels,” he said.
“ICT gadgets, which included computers, printers, projectors and servers were also distributed under the e-learning project.
“At least 4 332 computers were distributed to 404 schools.
“In addition, 17 printers and three projectors were also distributed.
Potraz had plans to equip a total of 180 schools with either 20 laptops each and/or internet connectivity during the current year.
Procurement of both computers and deployment of connectivity for this project was underway with 100 rural schools across the country benefitting in 2020.
Other legislators said there was need to assist schools in the rural areas who lacked online services.
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