Parents with school-going children across the country are anxious due to a false start in the reopening of the schools on Monday.
Some schools sent pupils back home citing a lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and the absence of teachers.
Parents expressed their frustration to the Chronicle during separate interviews yesterday. Below are some of the views.
Mrs Mirirai Shumba from Mkoba 6 suburb in Gweru had this to say:
My daughter is in Grade 7 at Chikumbiro Primary school and she has been turned away. I had given her two face masks and a sanitiser but she said they were told that there are no PPEs for the teachers. So, we don’t know what is happening.
Mrs Sithokozile Moyo of Nkulumane suburb in Bulawayo said:
We are actually wondering what exactly is happening because my two sons who are set to write their Grade Seven final examinations were turned away because there were no teachers. When I went to school to enquire the only excuse was that the classes were yet to be fumigated.
Mr Maxwell Chindanga from Athlone suburb in Gweru said:
My child is doing O-level at Chaplin High School and he is home now because he has been turned away. I understand the school is saying they are still to receive PPEs for the teaching staff and supporting staff and can’t risk having our children attending classes. They have been asked to check if the PPEs would have arrived tomorrow (today).
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), which represents 42 000 teachers said its members failed to report for duty due to incapacitation and lack of PPEs.