The government is next week expected to announce the date for the reopening of schools for the 2021 first term.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana said that cabinet deliberated on the issue and resolved to postpone the reopening of schools by two weeks.
In a post on Twitter last Friday following the holding of the first Cabinet meeting in 2021 on Tuesday, Mangwana said the position to defer schools’ reopening will be revisited after two weeks. He said:
Many are asking about the opening of schools. In its first meeting of 2021, Cabinet resolved that schools remain closed for another two weeks. This position will be reviewed at the end of two weeks.
Schools were closed on 18 December after briefly opening in September last year to prepare pupils for public examinations.
However, several schools across the country reported hundreds of coronavirus cases and the Government indefinitely shelved the reopening, which had been set on 4 January.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu told State media that it was no longer sustainable to keep the schools closed.