COVID-19 containment measures strain education sector

A COCKTAIL of measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 seems to have worsened Zimbabwe’s already strained educational sector.

With thousands infected since the first case in March 2020, the subsequent national lockdowns spelt doom for the landlocked southern African country.

Schools were shut for over nine months, which was a full year of learning lost in 2020.

The usual physical teacher-learner lesson delivery was banned, ushering a new normal of digital classrooms.

Being holed up at home has presented a number of challenges for students and teachers, which has changed their mindset over the period, experts say.

To contain the challenges and speed up recovery, the Primary and Secondary Education ministry has rolled out an initiative to identify persons who have become victims to the effects of the pandemic. The programme aims at alleviating stress among other things.

A student teacher at Manama High School in Gwanda district is said to be battling to contain stress after losing her aunt.

She says the programme has been quite helpful as the pandemic left a trail of destruction in people’s lives.

It’s so painful that COVID-19 has opened wounds and many people feel helpless.

The programme being implemented by government has been quite helpful as it has managed to link teachers with psychologists and funding for student teachers’ education.

Various teacher unions have reported that several of their members had succumbed to the virus and some are recovering.

However, they stress the need for constant physiological support.

Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro says COVID-19 brought about a number of challenges that include lack of faceto-face learning during the lockdowns.

Learners and teachers have experienced various challenges and require a safe space to ventilate their aspirations, expectations, fears and anxieties.

Schools are been encouraged to use child-friendly methods to urgently identify learners whose experiences in the community and/or home circumstances may have resulted in them exhibiting signs of trauma, stress, anxiety, fear or disinterest in school because of COVID-19.

The initiative extends beyond COVID-19 effects.

The Citizen Bulletin