Re-opening of schools cheers teacher unions

United Teachers Union of Zambia (UNTAZ) has welcomed the announcement of the dates for the re-opening of schools byPresident Edgar Lungu saying it is a good move aimed at preserving the education standards in the country.Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Kitwe on Friday, UNTAZ Director Mobilization for Copperbelt Evans Chisenga said thecontinued none re-opening of classes in non-examination classes was going to compromise the education standards as this wouldhave led to creation of two streams in each grade after the COVID-19 pandemic due to non-progression of pupils.Mr. Chisenga said the move by the President shows that his government puts the education sector as a priority.He said teachers will now await further guidelines to be put by the Ministry of Education on how schools will run to ensure thatpupils catch up on the lost time.He also urged the Ministry of Education to put up high safety measures as stipulated by the Ministry of Health to ensure thesafety of the learners.And speaking in a separate interview, Zambia National Education Collusion (ZANEC) President George Hamusunga said theannouncement is a relief to the education sector which he said was highly affected by the Covid-19.Mr. Hamusunga said the online learning alternative which was used under the sector did not help to address the challenge as itwas not accessible for most of the learners especially those in rural areas.He urged the Ministry of Education and the teachers to devise an effective remediation mechanism that will help learners to catchwith the lost time to enable them progress to their next grades next year.He also urged parents to prepare and send their children to school without hesitation as schools will put up health safetymeasures to ensure the safety of the learners.During the official opening of Parliament today, President Edgar Lungu announced the re-opening of all schools, Colleges andUniversities beginning from 14 to 28 September, 2020.Schools were closed in March this year due the COVID -19 pandemic.-ZANIS The Sun