BULAWAYO schools opened smoothly yesterday with teachers reporting for duty as some parents made last minute preparations for the new term.
In the past, it had become the norm for the re-opening of schools to be characterised by teacher absenteeism as some of them said they were incapacitated to return to their workstations.
This time around there was consensus between Government and teachers who reported for duty yesterday.
The teachers, like the rest of the civil servants, received a Presidential bonus in addition to their usual 13th cheque, and both were paid in foreign currency — a confirmation of the Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of its workers.
The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu said all teachers reported for duty and were looking forward to a fruitful term.
He said teachers are ready to work so that children get the best results.
“As teachers reported for duty we are just waiting for the Government to keep its promise and make the salaries of teachers better because in order for them to work very hard and produce good results their salaries should not cause hindrance for them,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Our Bulawayo Bureau spoke to some parents who were accompanying their children to school about how they felt about the beginning of term.
Children excitedly hugged each other as they met with their school friends.
For some first-time school attendees, it was a heartbreaking day as children clung to their mother’s legs and dresses, not wanting to let go and be left at school.
Most schools had sanitisers and buckets with water for children to sanitise before entering the school premises.
A parent Mrs Sihle Nyoni whose daughter attends Queen Elizabeth Primary School said she hopes Covid-19 cases that are being recorded in other countries will not disturb the school calendar.
She said the term had started on a good note with most teachers being present in schools on the first day.
“Right now, the only thing that can disturb the school calendar is Covid. I hope Government and schools are ready to fight the virus should it attack our schools again,” said Mrs Nyoni.
Some parents and guardians in Bulawayo yesterday continued to flood shops selling uniforms and stationery. Some were buying from vendors displaying their goods on pavements.
Vendors were demanding payment in foreign currency only, while shops were accepting all forms of payments.
A parent who was buying uniforms from a street vendor, Ms Langelihle Ndebele said it was cheaper to buy stuff on the streets with foreign currency.
“I am buying a full set uniform for my grade one child so I used less money by buying from the vendors compared to the amount I was going to spend by buying from shops. The difference of uniform prices from vendors and big retailers is quite big as they have US$3 difference. That can be saved to buy something else,” she said.
Government is expected to outline modalities for the roll-out of a state-funded free education policy targeting mostly vulnerable rural schools after it announced last week that it will gradually introduce free education at schools.
In a recent interview, Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Edgar Moyo said the Government will communicate how it will start implementing the state-funded education policy targeting some schools classified as the most vulnerable.
“We are expecting to be issuing circulars regarding state-funded education. Like we indicated that starting tomorrow (yesterday) we will be issuing thresh outs on issues regarding that. We’ll issue directives to schools and authorities on how that is going to be rolled out,” said Deputy Minister Moyo.
He said the Government will continue implementing Covid-19 preventive measures in schools, including wearing masks.
Education has suffered the most due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and between 2020 and 2021, schools experienced prolonged closures due to the effects of the pandemic. – The Herald
