No longer education for all during this Covid-19 lockdown

Billian T Matambo, Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union (ZIDAWU)
Zimbabwe
26/04/2020

Zimbabwe- We have reached a milestone of 4death and 28 positive cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of our lockdown on the 23th of March 2020. 3 of the 28 cases are Zimbabwean UK returnees who are in quarantine at Belvedere Teachers College in Harare. Our capital city Harare is leading with a high number of Covid-19 positive cases followed by Bulawayo with 10 cases.The lockdown was extended by 14 days and today is the 7th day , seven more days to go. Noone knows what the future holds for us.
Students and scholars are in a fix . What does the education sector hold for them .The government is encouraging online learning which is perfect but then what does it mean for the poor learners in the community. Only one thing no education for them during this lockdown period. Most of them don’t have gadget to use, on the other hand to those who happen to have gadgets the data is so expensive ,for instance 30MB data costs $7 bond, then how much more data one needs to be online for for a minimum of 3hours a day? ,its beyond reach . If the truth being said given the scenario which communities are facing currently, most parents can’t afford data for their children . Fighting the biggest enemy of hunger and starvation at hand is everyone ‘s major priority. Worse still Zimbabwe is now using the new curriculum syllabus which was introduced in 2017 thus we still have a high shortage of textbooks. Teachers guidance is of importance to students as of now. All this what does it mean for the poor learners , it means their future is affected badly ,no education for them during this lockdown and for exam classes chances of them passing are comprised. Its no longer education for all as usual but education for the elite.
#stayhome #staysafe