HARARE – Zimbabwe’s biggest teachers’ union says the June and November final examinations for Ordinary Level and Advanced Level should be postponed owing to learning disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus.
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) said it was dismayed that teachers and headmasters were being summoned by the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to process exam registration paperwork, even as the country is under a nationwide lockdown aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus.
“Just as it is uncertain of what the effects of Covid-19 will be on Zimbabwe, so it is also for educators who are being hurried to register students for June exams by ZIMSEC, by all means necessary, ZIMTA said in a statement Monday.
“ZIMTA is calling on the government to consider postponing the sitting of June and November examinations until a well-informed analysis of the impact of Covid-19 has been done.”
Schools closed two weeks early as part of measures by the government to minimise the spread of the virus by banning large gatherings.
The government has so far confirmed nine coronavirus cases including one death, although experts say the figures are understated because of the low testing.
ZIMTA also demanded that the government should position health workers at every school when schools re-open, and also avail coronavirus test kits.
