Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
MOST parents are optimistic the standard operating procedures (SOP) will keep their children safe from Covid-19 as schools are officially opening today.
By December last year, only 332 Covid-19 cases were reported out of 4,5 million pupils in the country’s learning institutions and the majority of these were asymptomatic, isolated and well monitored.
However, parents have bemoaned the additional expenses they incurred buying masks, extra soap and sanitisers for their children so they are able to meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines set to avert the spread of Covid-19.
For some schools, parents were asked to buy at least six branded reusable masks for their children. These masks are also to be labelled to avoid the sharing of masks which can expose pupils to the global pandemic.
A majority have lamented having their children stay at home and lose out on important lesson time when they have been relatively safe in the community where they mingle with everyone.
From its outbreak last year, Covid-19 has killed 1 510 people in Zimbabwe and there is a cumulative total of 36 662 infections.
Government last year came up with SOPs guiding the reopening of schools.
Part of the measures include reducing the number of learners per class to ensure that there is social distancing in schools.
Schools will be expected to regularly conduct temperature tests on learners and sanitise hands as well as enforcing mandatory wearing of masks.
In an interview yesterday, parents said the opening of schools today brings a lot of relief although the new normal had forced them to spend extra on their children’s requirements.
Ms Nobuhle Moyo, whose two daughters are at St Jame’s High School, said she had to spend extra money buying soap, hand sanitisers and basic toiletries so they do not find themselves exposed.
“We were asked to buy at least six masks for our children, three for classroom use and three for dormitories as part of requirements this time. The truth is things are tight and the expenses are a pain although we know they will yield good results for our children’s well-being,” said Ms Moyo.
“I am hopeful that these measures that schools have put will protect our children from Covid-19 as seen last year. We also hope that the Government will manage the situation so that we do not find ourselves regretting why we took them back to school in the middle of a pandemic.”
For Mr Mike Chikore, parents, teachers and school authorities should work together to ensure the set SOPs work.
“We have accepted that Covid-19 will be with us for a while hence we can only plan on how best to operate without exposing our children and teachers to the virus. The Government has outlined how they will be operating the schools and we pray that it works because we cannot continue keeping these children at home,” he said.
Mrs Bongeka Mlotshwa said she wishes school authorities come up with a mechanism to help children use masks properly.
“My son is going for Grade One and I am worried he may lose and continuously drop his masks in class which may endanger his life. We spent a lot of money trying to buy these masks on top of the fees, stationery and new uniforms since their sizes changed during the year-long lockdown,” she added.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema said Government does not expect to have challenges when schools reopen in full as lessons were learnt last year on Covid-19 management in schools.
He told parliamentarians last week what Government was doing to ensure learners and teachers are safe at schools.
“Covid-19 in Zimbabwe and indeed the whole world did not start today; it did not start on the 15th of March, 2021.
“We have had more than a year, the whole country inclusive of factories, offices and even in this august House, all of us together working to prevent the spread of Covid-19. So, we are using the experience in education that we have had over the past year and we continue with schools being opened using that experience,” he said.
“Therefore, we do not see anything that is different from what happened last year that we will need to do things outside what we have achieved in the past. Yes, we will look into the whole issue and all the Covid-19 protocols from the Ministry of Health and Child Care and from the World Health Organisation (WHO).”
In response to questions that some Grade One and Form One pupils were struggling to be enrolled, Minister Mathema said parents and guardians facing challenges in securing places for their children should approach the ministry’s officials.
“Every child in Zimbabwe must go to school and each school head — whether these are public or private schools — must make sure that every child goes to school. If there is any situation where children are being turned away for whatever reasons; and we have Covid-19 protocols, the parents, guardians and everybody else have to be in touch with my officers. We are not allowing that. Every child must go to school,” said Minister Mathema.
The ministry has also given the nod to individual schools to reduce and alternate classes to ensure there is a limited number of pupils per class at a particular time.
As was done last year, this could see some schools allowing pupils to only attend classes two days per week, spend three days learning from home and then rotate in the following week.
Mr Taungana Ndoro, who is director of communications and advocacy, said the Government will this week assess the available teachers at schools so as to come up with the actual teacher establishment and the required personnel in the sector. This year the Government recruited 3 000 teachers in the country and approved 600 lateral transfers to the Harare and Bulawayo metropolitan provinces.
Among the new recruitments, specialist teachers in the indigenous languages of Shangani, Tonga, Venda and Nambya were also employed as Government moves to affirm its position on the teaching of these languages.
Commenting on the state of affairs in schools as the rest of classes open today, Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu said the alternating classes strategy was the best route to take as it would help protect learners and teachers from the pandemic. He said the Government must ensure adequate availability of Personal Protective Equipment at schools.
“At the present circumstances of Covid-19 alternating classes is the best way to go because we do not have the classroom space to cater for the reduced number of learners per class as guided by the SOPs. What we now need to do for us to complement these alternating classes is to come up with a robust programme of distance learning and cyber learning.
“The reality is that this pandemic is now with us hence we must come up with means of ensuring the education sector still operates,” said Dr Ndlovu. — @thamamoe.
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