Zimbabwe schools appeal for PPE donations

THE Primary and Secondary Education ministry has appealed to the corporate sector to assist in the provision of COVID-19 equipment as schools open for examination classes later this month.

Speaking during NetOne's handover of COVID-19 protective wear and groceries to Ethandweni Children's Home, Kezi, Matobo yesterday, Primary and Secondary Education deputy minister Edgar Moyo said it was critical that stakeholders help in the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to schools.

"We have two types of schools, those that offer Cambridge examinations and those that offer Zimsec (Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council)," Moyo said.

"Those offering Cambridge are opening on September 14. Why are they opening earlier than other schools is that their examinations will be on October 1. Furthermore, those private schools have been very active in online lessons."

Moyo said public schools were opening on September 28.

"Opening schools means that as government, we should be prepared. For the next two months, teachers will have to conduct face-to-face lessons and we know they have lost time and questions have been asked on what will happen to that time, but teachers have ways to recover their lost time," he said.

"The issue of COVID-19 is the responsibility of everyone in the country and as a ministry, we are merely leading, but everybody should come on board."

Teachers have been resisting the reopening of schools, demanding that government provides PPE to schools to protect both the pupils and educators.

"A lot of things are required as we open schools and we would like to call all corporates to assist. There are many corporates who are benefiting from communities," he said.

"They (corporates) are operating so they should come on board and take it upon themselves to say, how can we assist towards the opening of schools," Moyo said.

"Someone is procuring those things and these things can never be enough.

"We want everyone to come on board, we have got sanitisers, face masks and some of our schools are already producing these items and for now, Mashonaland East is the one leading in the production of these masks."

Moyo said it was unknown how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last and therefore, people in the manufacturing sector should capacitate schools with machines to make their
own masks.

"All parastatals, private companies, corporates, institutions and others, we want to call all of them to come on board to assist. They must not say the Ministry of Education is doing it; we should all be doing it. In our fight against COVID-19, every school is attached close to a clinic and they must be completely utilised to minimise the risk of infection," Moyo said.

TelOne southern region business unit head, Wing Sibanda said they saw it fit to give back to the community in which they operate. The donations included books, sanitisers, blankets, rice, sugar, flour and other groceries.