GOVT NOT READY TO REOPEN SCHOOLS - MPS

LOBAMBA - Government is not ready to reopen schools. This was the view of a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday when they tossed out a report which had been tabled by the Minister of Education and Training, Lady Mabuza.

During a debate which lasted more than four hours, the MPs said the government plan on the reopening of schools was vague.

The debate started off with the minister stating that they had tried to respond to the COVID-19 fight by introducing home learning, although she said it was not possible to conduct all lessons, particularly the practical ones. She highlighted, however, that as the Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini had announced the reopening of schools in particular Form Vs on July 1, 2020, all teachers were expected to be in school.

“All teachers will be on the ground doing several duties,” she said.
The MPs said it was clear that there were no PPEs, which were needed for the safety of both pupils and teachers.
First to have the floor was Lubombo Region MP Lorraine Nxumalo who wondered what would happen with the lower grades, particularly in primary schools, when the lessons resumed.

Syllabus

MP Nxumalo said before the external classes resumed, the ministry needed to have a comprehensive syllabus because there was no way that the initially planned one would be covered.

She wondered why the content could not be altered at this stage as submitted by the minister.
“I strongly feel that it is possible to alter the examinations, especially because a lot of learning time has been lost in light of the COVID-19 outbreak,” submitted Nxumalo.

She added that they were also prepared as parents to take their children to school, just to fetch the lessons especially for the lower grades.
Mangcongco MP Oneboy Zikalala said he was also against the minister’s report, especially on the part of the payment of school fees by parents.

He wondered why parents were being made to pay for time lost, in particular those who had also lost their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak.
MP Zikalala said it was clear that the ministry had not involved all stakeholders when coming up with the new solutions. MP Musa Kunene also asked why all the teachers were also expected to be at school especially those who did not teach external classes.

“Bayokwentani?,” he asked in venarcular. MP Kunene further said the ministry needed to engage institutions like Cambridge for the alteration of the examinations, especially because this was an abnormal situation. He also said the syllabus must be altered.  Meanwhile, Siphofaneni MP Mduduzi Simelane said government needed to focus as this was a war against COVID-19.

He said perhaps government was ready to focus on the external classes (Form V, Form III and Grade VII), but not all the other grades.
He said it would be an insult to the nation if the pupils were graded on what had been taught through the media for the past two months.
“What is currently happening on radio and social media is not effective teaching,” said MP Simelane.

The legislator said he was disappointed that Minister Mabuza was only speaking of engaging MPs now when even her portfolio committee was also not invited to make its contributions.  He said teaching was a technical field and also specialised.
This was in reference to the minister stating that all teachers would be expected to be at school.

“Asihlakuli la (we are not weeding fields), but we are teaching,” he said.
Siphocosini MP Mduduzi Matsebula said he was disappointed by the minister’s report as he had expected a proper action plan for the opening of schools.

Disappointed

“I am disappointed, this report should have had a risk assessment and timelines on the opening of schools,” he said.  MP Matsebula said transport operators known as bomalume, who transported pupils to schools, should have also been engaged on the safety of the pupils. He added that some parents with pupils attending boarding schools had already paid their annual fees and asked if there would be any refund for them. 

He said there was no clear strategy on what government planned to do towards the reopening of schools. MP Matsebula said the minister should also pay attention to private schools and not be seen as just a minister for public schools.  He asked the ministry to also engage the mobile companies on data charges, which he said were high. He said the ministry needed to give a clear direction on the matter.

Maseyisini MP Mduduzi Dlamini also expressed his disappointment at the ministry’s report and that the portfolio committee had not been engaged. He also said the radio, TV and print media lessons had also not been effective.  The MP also questioned why parents were being made to pay examination fees when there were no lessons.

“Further, why are all teachers being instructed to go back to school, what will the Grade I or Grade II  teachers be doing there?” he asked. He said the roles needed to be fully defined.  The MP also asked if the Education and Training minister had liased with the Ministry of Health on the supply of personal protective equipment because the latter always stated that the country was in short supply.

He expressed concern that the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) had withdrawn from talks with the Ministry of Education and Training. “Are we even engaging other SADC countries in this regard?” he wondered.

Meanwhile, MP Derrick Jele said in one school there were 150 pupils in Grade VII who had only one English Language teacher. He said if the classes were separated into groups of 20, the teacher would end up being tired.
He said government could not then use a Grade I teacher to teach other grades.

On the other hand, Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso ‘Scorpion’ Nxumalo questioned the opening of schools in July, as it would be cold and the coronavirus may thrive. He said government always had bad timing for opening things, such as the sale of alcohol which would happen on a Monday instead of a Friday.
The minister was requested to return with a comprehensive plan next Wednesday.

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