(Last Updated on February 24, 2021 by GERALD NCUBE)
HARARE – The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is working together with the Health Ministry to prepare schools for the eventual reopening of schools, the government has said.
Addressing the media yesterday after the Cabinet meeting, Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the two ministries were working closely together to ensure the schools are reopened in a safe environment.
“Regarding primary and secondary education, the responsible ministry continues to work with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to prepare for the inevitable re-opening of schools.
“Meanwhile, the training of school health coordinators and the assessment of the schools’ preparations for the resumption of learning is ongoing. The government is doing its best to ensure that adequate precautionary measures are taken before schools are opened,” said Mutsvangwa.
Government also announced that teachers and lecturers will be part of the second phase of the vaccination programme which started being rolled out last week.
Learning has been heavily disrupted for almost a year now due to the Covid-19 pandemic which forced schools to close for the greater part of last year.
While some schools initiated online learning, most pupils were disadvantaged as they could not access these online classes due to several factors including lack of infrastructure, especially in the rural areas.
Recently, there was a nationwide outcry following the publishing of Grade 7 results which saw more rural schools record zero percent pass rates.
Last year, the government ordered the resumption of schools without putting in place adequate safety measures in schools and this resulted in a surge of the Covid-19 cases in some schools forcing some schools to abruptly close again.
