By Jane Mlambo| Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga has condemned the government move to proceed with school examinations saying the country is not ready to open doors to children without following proper procedures.

Making a presentation before Parliament last week, Mushonga said without running water in schools, it will be difficult to maintain hygiene and keep children safe from COVID-19.

“Our position is we’re not ready as a country to proceed with examinations on the dates that have been set by Zimsec. In particular because of the things that we’re talking about. Honourable Members in the Committee were even saying that it is not just rural areas but even urban areas themselves — there’s no running water. We know that our young children are trying to sew and do masks — which is a fantastic idea in terms of the training but we also need to understand whether the standards have been checked. This is why we have the Standards Association of Zimbabwe — really, for us, any mask that somebody is going to wear has to be a mask that conforms with the WHO standards,” said Misihairabwi-Mushonga.