Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) The opening of schools without the provision of testing kits, thermometers, sanitizers, social/physical distance, PPEs, cleaning and disinfection of schools currently used as quarantine centres, among many other things, is tantamount to genocidal, suicidal and academic terrorism by Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
It therefore calls for defensive combat by teachers, pupils and parents by all means necessary. It is worrisome that the Ministry has unilaterally come up with phased reopening of schools without engaging those nearer the classroom and whose co-operation is key to such opening, viz, teachers.
Teachers have learnt with deep concern from media reports that phase 1 that include Grade 7, Form 4 and U6th would open on 23 June; phase 2 (Grade 6, F3, L6th) on 14 July; phase 3 (Grades 3-5, F. 1 &2 and Special Schools) on 28 July; phase 4 (Grade 1 & 2) on 11 August; and phase 5 (all ECD learners) on 1 September 2020. As teachers we are ready to open schools any day provided an enabling health and safety environment is established first in schools. Such an environment cannot be established without a covid 19 risk assessment in schools, let alone provision of all the health and safety equipment necessary to ameliorate covid 19 pademic. Worse still we have witnessed a quantum leap of covid 19 cases to 132 yesterday.
It is our humble submission that what we need before coming with any time framed opening of schools is time frame for provision of health and safety equipment to 10 000 schools, and enough for students, teachers and ancillary staff. We also need time framed recruitment of more than 50 000 teachers, and infrastructural development in schools that can guarantee social distance and teacher-pupil ratio of 1:20. But to expect a government that has only tested 38 352 in more than two months to test more than 4.5 million pupils, 136 000 teachers, and 50 000 ancillary staff in three weeks would be to expect the impossible. Yet a pre-condition of opening of all schools is testing of teachers, pupils and ancillary staff in order to prevent multiple transmissions, more so given the high population in schools.
It is unfortunate that the Minister of Education, Hon Cain Matema has misconceived practical and realistic advice from teacher unions for hurled insults. We respect Hon Cain Matema as a Minister, but want to reiterate that he will do better by accepting professional advice rather than adopting an intransigent and irresponsible approach impermeable to reason and facts. No educational reform can be successful without the support of teachers, and the opening of schools is no exception. Engagement of teachers to merely rubber stamp warped Ministry decisions is not only callous but also blatantly mischievous, palpably unjust and a monument of unfair labour practice. At any rate intelligence does not merely reside at Head Office in the Ministry of Education. There is nothing that can surpass the collective wisdom of teachers and education officials. The Ministry can do better by tapping and harnessing our collective wisdom in order to foster progress and best practice. When the Ministry misfires as over the reopening of schools, teacher unions have no option except to amplify the voices of reason from their members. Command and control tactics can only produce good results among soldiers and not in the 21st century skills and innovation educational revolution.
Hon Minister be reminded that there is nothing that shows that schools can open any time soon. The sooner we see action in terms of government prioritisation of health and safety of teachers, pupils and ancillary staff, the better. Our health and safety first, and there would be no compromise and no surrender over this. Prevention is better than cure. We reiterate our view that the government must open churches, bars and wedding first before schools to assess the contagious effect of gatherings of 50 plus people.
The line Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has also been silent on risk allowance as if teachers are not frontline workers in the education sector. Worse still, the government must be reminded that all teachers have tested positive to poverty due to the unilateral change and reduction of their US$520 to local currency. We therefore reiterate our long held view that we are not seeking any salary increase or cushion, but restoration of our purchasing power parity by paying us US$520 or its inter-bank rate equivalence. The gvt can hardly put the future of pupils in the hands of hungry and angry teachers, whose current salary cannot even pay electricity and water bills. We therefore need a broader perspective and holistic approach to the opening of schools that takes cognisance of the health, safety and welfare of teachers, let alone that of students and ancillary staff.
Any shortcut will generate equal and opposing force. The government will leave teachers, pupils and parents with no option except to set their instruments of defensive combat clanking into gear, if it goes foward headlong and try to reopen schools prematurely. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Indeed teachers, pupils and parents will not salivate at the poisoned carrot of reopening schools without meeting WHO standards. They have decided to unite as brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers to avoid perishing as fools. The best health and safety foot foward is to keep schools closed until gvt takes its responsibility of creating an enabling health, safety and welfare environment for meaningful learning and teaching to ensue. The unity of teachers, pupils and parents will make this a reality soon. We have nothing to fear except premature reopening of schools and our starvation wages.
Venceremos
Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)
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