By Dr Takavafira Zhou
Recently, gvt purported that preparations for opening schools for second term are at an advanced stage. A raft of measures were announced that included visits to schools by Ministry officials, release of money by gvt and workshops for teachers. However, pragmatism and realism must triumph over vapid and vacuous wishful thinking. The reality on ground is that schools would not open any time soon.
It is noteworthy that the country has witnessed an unprecedented increase of covid 19 cases since May 2021. All tertiary institutions have suspended face to face learning. Covid 19 regulations have also been intensified throughout the country with restrictions on transport, movement, operation of business, closure of churches, bars and banning of gatherings. Put succinctly, teachers and pupils are not immune to covid 19 and their health and safety must be prioritised. We are also aware that gvt has no capacity to test all 136 000 teachers, ancillary staff and nearly 6 million pupils. It is suicidal to allow the congregation of people of such magnitude in schools in a period of escalation of covid 19 cases.
At any rate we have minors in schools that cannot fully comprehend the impact of covid 19. If we have closed institutions used by adults, how can we open schools where there are kids? We are also aware that schools do not have covid abatement equipment, and money allocated to assist schools has not filtered to schools, while standard operation procedures have not been followed.
In the foregoing our professional advice is that: -Schools must remain closed until mid August or even end of August when winter would have rescinded and temperatures would be high
-The gvt must forget about second term or three terms in 2021 and allow students to open for one remaining term in August until the end of the year.
-Gvt must urgently engage teachers and parents in order to come up with innovative pedagogical methods of teaching pupils whilst they are at home. Such practical methods should buttress class and subject whatsApp groups that teachers have created, with gvt giving teachers data bundles and also approaching organisations like UNICEF to supply learning gadgets for pupils from poor backgrounds.
-Parents should ensure that pupils in a family can use phones in the family to do their school work
-Gvt must also urgently pay teachers a living wage in order to motivate them to assist pupils during this precarious period.
-Shambolic Continuous Assessment Learning Areas (CALA) and its consequent burdensome tasks must be discarded in order to give teachers maximum time to cover the syllabus and adequately prepare students for examinations. The implementation of CALA must never be a rushed process, but done gradually taking into consideration budgetary implications, standardisation and interoperability that can guarantee the successful blending of theory and practical experience in learning in order to engineer a life-serving skills educational revolution in line with Agenda 2030.
It is noteworthy that any preparations for opening schools under current conditions are a long term and not a short term measure. The urgency of now is to focus on short term measures that can assist pupils until feasible opening in August. Unless we do this as a matter of urgency, the 2021 academic year would be worse than the 2020 academic year in terms of results. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. It is our hope that gvt would listen to professional advice rather than adopting an irresponsible commandist approach impermeable to reason and facts.
Venceremos
*Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)*
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