The President of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Dr Takavafira Zhou has accused the government of taking failing to prioritise the safety of learners and teachers.
He said the government is waiting for schools to be severely affected by the virus before it decides to seal them off. He said:
The government is adamant that in spite of an acute increase of COVID-19 cases among school-age children, schools will continue to operate. Over 30 schools and over 600 pupils and teachers have been affected, and the government seems to have adopted a one-size-fits-all approach in which it waits for COVID-19 to run riot in a school and then close the school.
His remarks come at the backdrop of a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in schools.
Some learning institutions including John Tallach and Matobo High Schools and Kwekwe Polytechnic have been closed after learners and teachers had tested positive for the coronnavirus.
Although calls for the closure of schools have increased recently, the government seems determined to see the current term through.
When schools were reopened on 28 September this year, some stakeholders claimed schools were not ready but the government insisted all mechanisms to curb the spread of the coronnavirus were in place.
More: NewsDay