Teachers demand schools shutdown over coronavirus outbreak fears

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s three main teachers’ unions have demanded that schools be shut in the country to minimise the impact and spread of a potential coronavirus outbreak.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday banned large gatherings of more than 100 people and urged foreigners from high risk countries to stay away as Zimbabwe braces for its first case of the fast spreading global pandemic.

Mnangagwa however decreed that schools should stay open, with the end of the school term expected in two weeks.

“The decision by Mnangagwa to keep our 9,400 schools open when six of our neighbours have shut theirs is shocking. We expected him to listen to the voices if the unions as well,” said Raymond Majongwe, president of the Progressive Teachers’ Union (PUTZ).

In a statement, the PTUZ added: “It is common cause that it is our schools that would be most susceptible to contagious diseases like Covid-19. Only the closing of schools and banning of attendant activities now will go a long way to alleviating the undesirable consequences of infection by the coronavirus. As the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine.”

Tapson Nganunu Sibanda, the secretary general of Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), said: “Schools should close with immediate effect. We should be proactive as a country. Coronavirus is a reality and we are talking about life here. We cannot experiment with people’s lives by continuing as if nothing is happening at all.”

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe said the government had not committed any effort to ensuring that teachers and pupils take steps that will prevent the disease from spreading rapidly, in the event of an outbreak.

“All schools have a population of more than 100 people who spend the day together,” ARTUZ said, while threatening to withdraw its members from work from March 20 if the government does not move to shut down schools.

Zimbabwe maintains that it has not recorded any positive tests for coronavirus – but neighbours Namibia, South Africa, the Kingdom of eSwatini and the DRC all have confirmed cases.