Government has scrapped Second Term school fees, while 6 000 teachers are being recruited ahead of the phased reopening of schools starting tomorrow.
This comes amid reports that a crash programme to ensure
learners complete their syllabuses and the suspension of sporting activities
for the remainder of the year were among interventions being considered to
ensure learners graduate to the next grades.
The recruitment of teachers will cater for classes that
have been trimmed in line with health guidelines to fight Covid-19.
Before schools closed at the end of March, some classes had
over 50 pupils, but according to the Standard Operating Procedure for the
Prevention and Management of Covid-19 drafted by the Ministry of Primary and
Secondary Education, a standard-sized classroom must not exceed 35 learners.
The learners must also be seated a metre apart. Public
schools open on Tuesday for classes sitting Zimbabwe School Examinations
Council (Zimsec) examinations as the country resumes direct tuition.
Next year’s examination classes — Grade 6, Form 3 and Lower
Six — will resume studies on October 26, and on November 9, ECD A and B, Grades
1 to 5 and Forms 1 and 2 will return to school.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain
Mathema told The Sunday Mail that Government had adopted extraordinary measures
to allow learners to proceed to the next grades.
“There will be strategies this year and next year, like
suspension of sports, introduction of weekend classes and crash programmes that
will be put in place to ensure that students catch up with time that was lost.
“In some instances, teachers have to emphasise and
concentrate on the key concepts so that even those slow learners grasp the
concepts. Teachers know how to handle such scenarios.
“There will be gradual catching up as we go and revisiting
those areas that might need to. We do not want to clog and disrupt the whole
system even up to tertiary education, so we are letting them proceed to the
next level.”
Local schools and colleges closed on March 24 as the
Government took pre-emptive measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Examinations for all the other grades, said Minister
Mathema, will be in December to ensure schools open normally in January 2021.
“Schools will close in December for everyone except for the
Zimsec examination classes that will have papers that overlap to next year,” he
said.
“We are recruiting 6 000 teachers starting this term to
cover for the workload which is coming with the trimming of classes.
“We have 9 000 schools in the country, so we need the
teachers to take the extra classes that will be created,” Ministry of Primary
and Secondary Education director of communications and advocacy, Mr Taungana
Ndoro, told the Sunday News yesterday.
“School authorities must follow Government directives. The
official school calendar was Term One. So, there was no Term Two in the first
place, and the Government position is that no school must therefore demand fees
for a term that was not announced and approved by Government.”
Provincial Education Directors (PEDs) submitted updates and
progress reports to the ministry on preparations to reopen schools. The reports
helped Government to procure and deliver personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and
parliamentarians recently undertook an extensive tour around the country to
assess the extent of preparedness of public schools to resume lessons under new
health protocols.
The National Pharmaceutical Company of Zimbabwe (NatPharm),
he said, is today expected to finalise the distribution of PPE to schools
across the country.
“NatPharm has been tasked to supply PPE to schools and we
have given them a timeframe that they should have delivered by Sunday (today)
to ensure that every student gets PPE by the end of next week (this week).”
Minister Mathema said Government and its partners, which
include churches, Plan International and UNICEF, would continue delivering PPE
to schools throughout the term.
National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) chairperson
Mrs Cynthia Khumalo confirmed that schools had begun receiving PPEs.
Educationist Dr Cephas Nziramasanga said there is need for
a robust strategy to ensure all work is covered and learners grasp all the key
concepts.
However, Dr Nziramasanga expressed concern over the
practicality of Government’s crash programme.
“From my point of view, I do not think it is attainable for
a teacher to complete a seven-month syllabus in two months.
“I suggest that in January teachers restructure the syllabi
in a way that will cover work for the previous grade and present one.
“This will require a lot of work from both the teachers and
students. This will ensure some form of continuity.”
Dr Nziramasanga said teachers would need to take up
continuous assessments and introduce practical lessons in all subjects to
ensure the child’s record is kept, while ensuring that the child is grasping
all the concepts.
“By March, they will have finished work from the previous grade
and continue with the present one.” Sunday Mail
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