Universities start contact classes for first-year students

Universities in Zimbabwe have opened their doors for conventional learning but only for first-year students and those writing end-of-first and second-semester exams.

At the end of July, government ordered universities to defer any contact learning, mostly for final-year classes and to switch to online learning after an increase in COVID-19 cases.

The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) was the first to open last week, followed early this week by the Midlands State University (MSU).

In a statement on 27 August, Noah Mutongoreni, the UZ registrar, announced a resumption of studies for first-timers and those writing end-of-second semester examinations.

“All first-year and masters students due for the January/June 2020 examinations are hereby advised that the university is opening for the resumption of the 2020 second semester academic business. Consolidation of e-learning and writing of examination will commence on 31 August 2020 until 12 September 2020,” he said.

Mutongoreni said the university had decongested the student halls of residence and allocated single occupancy in rooms to prevent and control COVID-19 and observe regulations.

In a notice, Tinashe Zishiri, MSU registrar, said: “The Midlands State University wishes to advise all first-year, first-semester (Level 1:1) students who were accepted for the February 2020 and August 2020 intakes that orientation and face-to-face lectures for conventional students will run from the 7th of September to the 19th of September 2020.”

Zishiri said to curb the spread of COVID-19, students were required to bring facemasks and to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, adding that shared on-campus accommodation for undergraduate students would be available at its campuses.

Lupane State University similarly announced the resumption of conventional classes for first-year students, and exams from 1 September onwards.

Great Zimbabwe University, which only last week announced plans for students to write end-of-first semester examinations online from 7 September, announced on 1 September that the exams would now be written physically on new dates.

The Catholic University of Zimbabwe said orientation for all new students will be on 14 September and the second semester will start online on the same date, while exams will be written as from 8 September.

Africa University has also begun orientation for first-year students from across Africa. Most universities have not given dates as to when the rest of their students will commence but studies for them will likely continue online.

Many of the students have struggled to get back to college owing to a lack of transport. Under COVID-19 lockdown regulations, intercity transportation is the sole responsibility of ZUPCO, the government-run bus company, which cannot cope with demand.

Takudzwa Matare, the MSU student representative council secretary general, said many students experienced transport challenges but his council organised buses for them at affordable fares.

Traditionally, first-year students start their studies in March but in January universities took a concerted decision to start lecturers for first-year students in August (at the same time) to allow the synchronisation of programmes across universities in line with the Zimbabwe National Qualifications Framework.

The decision to start conventional classes also follows recent communication from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development to universities advising that reports from the Ministry of Health and Child Care indicate the country has reached a stable rate of COVID-19 infections.

Last week, the government said despite a surge in local transmissions of COVID-19, the majority of the cases were mild to moderate with a recovery rate of about 80%.