Peter Tanyanyiwa

In a bid to smoothen the reopening of schools for the second phase which commenced on Monday, with Grade Six, Form Three and Form Five classes returning to school, Harare Mayor Councilor Jacob Mafume embarked on a Schools Sanitisation program through which he donated sanitizers to different schools in Harare.

The program is ongoing.

Last Thursday he donated to five schools in Ward 17, Mt Pleasant and is expected to do more in an effort to shield students from the coronavirus pandemic which has killed millions across the globe.

Schools that have received the sanitisers from the Harare Mayor so far include Groombridge Primary School, Vainona Primary School, Alex Park, Vainona High School and Mt Pleasant High school.

The schools were represented by their principals.

The Mt Pleasant district staff was present at the handover ceremony that took place at the Mt Pleasant district office last week Thursday.

Mt Pleasant district officer Mrs Marian Mverechena said the donation by the Harare Mayor was targeted at assisting schools in Harare, adding that the Mayor was not stopping in his ward but was going around Harare making the same donation.

“The donation of the sanitisers to five schools in Mt Pleasant is aimed at helping the exam classes, the emphasis being on Covid-19, to ensure that the children are safe, as the mayor he did not only cater for his ward but he is visiting schools within harare donating sanitisers. Last week he also made the same donation in Tafara with the same mission,” added Mverechena.

The schools principals who received the sanitisers from the Mayoral Schools sanitisation program expressed gratitude and said they were desperate since schools haven’t been getting money during the lockdown.

The headmasters said schools encountered great financial deficits during the lockdown period and are yet to recover, hence currently are not in a position to make any huge purchases.

They all concurred that the sanitisation program has been rolled out at the right time and will go a long way in shielding the students from the coronavirus pandemic.

Schools closed prematurely towards the end of the First Term in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Government resolved to reopen schools in three phases to allow room to monitor challenges that may arise.

The examination classes reopened on September 28 while the last batch will reopen on November 9.