Ministry suspends all contact teaching in universities

The Zimbabwean government has ordered all tertiary education institutions to stop face-to-face lectures on campuses immediately and proceed with e-learning as a safety measure to protect students and workers from a sudden spike in the number of cases of COVID-19.

In a letter dated 21 July, addressed to 26 principals of tertiary education institutions including teachers’ colleges, polytechnics and industrial colleges, Professor Fanuel Tagwira, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, said students should vacate halls of residence by Friday 24 July.

“It is now observed COVID-19 cases are escalating daily and this may put the lives of students and members of staff in our institutions at high risk.

“In view of the foregoing, the ministry is hereby directing that all tertiary education institutions, with immediate effect, suspend face-to-face lectures on campus and continue with e-learning,” he said.

Tagwira said his ministry was working hard to ensure that all institutions are adequately resourced with the necessary infrastructure to facilitate access to quality e-learning.

The switch-over to e-learning by universities and other higher education institutions has run into problems, with students complaining that the new learning method was not affordable to many of the students.

The rejection by students forced government to engage mobile network operators to zero-rate universities’ websites, but of the three networks, only Econet Wireless, through its subsidiary Liquid Telecom, acceded to the demand.

The decision to suspend lectures is a volte-face by government. Minister of Higher Education Professor Amon Murwira told parliament only last month that government had taken steps to ensure masks and sanitisers were accessible to learners. However, he did say the government would close the institutions if problems arose.

Tertiary education institutions that include polytechnic colleges, teachers’ colleges and industrial training colleges opened on 13 July for final-year students while universities opened on 1 June.

Schools and tertiary education institutions were closed on 23 March after government declared the COVID-19 crisis a national disaster on 7 March.

The suspension of contact learning comes as Zimbabwe is tightening its COVID-19 lockdown regulations to allow only essential services to operate.

By Monday 20 July the country had reported 1,713 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 26 deaths. In the past two months the country has experienced a spike in new coronavirus cases incited by returnees from the diaspora as well as escalating local transmissions.

There have, however, not been many reported cases of COVID-19 at institutions of higher learning except for one case of a lecturer at Chinhoyi University of Technology who recently tested positive, and at least three students who tested positive at the National University of Science and Technology in June.

The country’s two foremost student unions, the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) and the Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union (ZICOSU), have both strongly contested the reopening of universities and colleges, citing safety concerns for students and staff and the lack of online learning infrastructure.

Tapiwanashe Chiriga, ZINASU secretary general, applauded this week’s decision to stop contact teaching, but said the union was concerned about the health of students leaving campuses.

“We ... are concerned by the fact that government intends to send students home without testing and proper procedure. Students should be tested before they leave campus,” he said.

However, Chiriga said the discontinuation of classes gives government a chance to redeem itself by implementing a proper plan for the continuation of lectures.

“If online learning is to be the alternative, we maintain that students have to be provided with data bundles and it does not have to be rushed,” he said.

Universities should close by Friday

In an interview, Permanent Secretary Tagwira said all colleges and universities should close by Friday 24 July, but any universities with students still writing exams should conclude that exercise within two weeks.

Higher Education Minister Murwira, who is also acting health minister, said he could not state when institutions of higher learning would reopen, due to the threat of COVID-19. The minister said government will continue making reviews based on the situation on the ground.

According to College Lecturers' Association of Zimbabwe President David Dzatsunga, the closure of campuses was a result of pressure from lecturers who petitioned the government and met Tagwira to say it was not safe for campuses to remain open.

In an interview, Dzatsunga said lecturers were happy the authorities had heeded their petition.

Dzatsunga said the lecturers decided to petition government when a lecturer tested positive at Chinhoyi University of Technology amid rising cases in workplaces.

“We approached the permanent secretary after the Chinhoyi incident and other happenings at the workplace. We told him that the workplace was not safe and should be closed. There was no protective clothing and social distancing was a challenge due to the numbers. I can confirm that our members are quite happy that government heeded our message,” he said.

Dzatsunga said that besides the campus environment that was not conducive, there were risks of contracting the virus on the way to work due to transport challenges in the country. Only a state bus firm, Zupco, is allowed to operate during the lockdown, but it is overwhelmed, resulting in long queues at bus stops and overloading in some buses.

Faustina Talent Madava, vice-president of the student representative council (SRC) at Chinhoyi University of Technology, which was the first institution that was ordered to close after a lecturer tested positive, said it came as a shock to them that the virus had spread to their campus.

She said the university, which has been manufacturing sanitisers, had tried to follow health protocols.

“It came as a surprise because the university did its best: there was sanitising of hands. Each student was given sanitiser and two masks by the university. There was social distancing and in halls of residence there was no personal contact. Even going next door was not allowed,” she said.

Madava, however, said she and seven other students, including Chinhoyi University of Technology SRC President Lionel Shayahama, will not be sitting at home during the shutdown as they have been charged for protesting the arrest of two former students.

“The state is saying we violated the criminal code by inciting public violence as they saw our pictures on Facebook in which we were carrying placards. It is the eight of us and we are in the same class. We will be in court next Tuesday,” she said.

On Monday 20 July, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa told a media briefing that the government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, is facilitating the transportation of returning Zimbabwean students from across the globe, through repatriation flights. Most of them are in China.