The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has urged the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to postpone examination registration as a way of protecting headteachers from contracting coronavirus as they are obliged to travel long distances during the process.
ZIMTA secretary-general Tapson Sibanda appealed to ZIMSEC to suspend the registration process for now and continue after the COVID-19 pandemic has been eradicated. Said Sibanda:
Our appeal to Zimsec is that they should postpone the deadlines for examination registration.
These are the deadlines that are causing panic.
We also note that even some banks are no longer functional as some branches have closed countrywide as a way of controlling coronavirus.
So, heads and teachers have to travel long distances of over 400km to process the registration.
That alone exposes them to high chances of contracting the virus.
Deadlines for payment of examination fees are March 30, 2020, for the June examinations and April 9, 2020, for the November examinations.
Meanwhile, schools that fail to meet the ZIMSEC registration deadline will pay a fine of over $1 000.