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Teachers have challenged the government to reconsider the compressed school calendar which will leave students without enough time to learn after losing more than a third of time due to COVID-19 national lockdown.
In a statement yesterday Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said government should revise the old three term for 2021 school calendar as time is enough for students to master.
Zhou further added that the compressed school calendar will strain parents financially on school fees, since it was spread over nine months.
He also argued that there was no justification to opt for the three-term system except to fleece parents of their hard-earned money by charging them exorbitant fees.
The PTUZ said government did not consider the absence of secondary teachers who are still marking the O’ level and A’ level examination papers which might be until the end of this month.
“First, it is noteworthy that secondary school teachers would be marking 2020 ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations up to March 27. This would be followed by the Easter holiday in early April. There is, therefore, no justification to open schools until after the holiday.”
In support of PTUZ, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure said: “The government is not investing in proper planning ahead of schools opening. Opening schools in the absence of teachers who are marking examinations will only compound on the pre-existing crisis of teacher incapacitation and the apparent COVID 19 scare.
Government recently released the 2021 schools calendar showing that the first term begins on March 15 for the examination classes, with the rest of the classes opening on March 22.
The first term ends on June 4, with the second term beginning on June 28 and ending on September 10.
The third term is set to begin on October 4 and ends on December 17.
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