Learners across the country have commended Government for the move to indefinitely defer the re-opening of schools.
Initially, schools had been scheduled to re-open on July 28 after the first term was prematurely ended in March due to the emergence of the deadly pandemic.
A recent spike in cases has prompted Government to reconsider the July 28 proposed restart.
The Cabinet decision seemed to have just corrected what most students and parents thought was an unjust move after schools were said to re-open considering that there was no adequate infrastructure in schools to cope with the Covid -19 pandemic.
The decision came after the country reached 1 000 mark this week. According to latest statistics the country has 1 034 up from the 734 cases that were recorded on Tuesday last week.
Speaking to some students they indicated that they were not ready to go to school until summer.
“Personally l attend a government school where in most cases water is generally a problem and to expect us as students to open in winter was just a bad move considering that the virus spreads faster in cold conditions.
“If one also takes a closer look at how we are to learn, my class consists of 35 to 40 pupils and one wonders if we are to use the one-meter social distancing rule it means we have to be split into two or three classes meaning we need more teachers or a hot seating programme,” said Lincon Ncube.
Besides the unavailability of water and basic necessities to combat the virus it has also come to attention of parents that it is better to at least priorities grade 7 students and probably examination classes just after winter.
Tsitsi Hove of Harare stressed that government must not put itself under unnecessary pressure and risk the lives of children, schools can cater for those who are to graduate to secondary or varsity at the moment.
“Looking at the current situation government seems to be trying too hard and maybe the Cabinet is being ill advised.
“The only way forward, looking at the available resources, is to push examination classes s that life goes on and later deal with the remaining students by a way of having a four term schooling calendar just after we are sure that we have contained Covid-19”.
Zimbabwe like most other African countries has a comparatively low number of positive cases. But the recent spike has raised concerns of a ‘second wave’, which scientists have warned is a possibility.
Government also has taken heed of the World Health Organization’s call not to quickly uplift the lock-down as this is a novel virus with no vaccine yet.