by Innocent Mujeri

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the country, Government has seen it prudent to suspend face to face lectures on campus to avoid exposing students to the deadly disease.

A letter dated 21 June 2020, written by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Fanuel Tagwira, to all tertiary education institutions, directed them to revert back to online lectures and allow students to vacate halls of residence by Friday, this week.

“It is now observed that COVID-19 cases are escalating daily and this may put the lives of students and members of staff in our institutions at high risk.

“In view of the foregoing, the Ministry is hereby directing that all tertiary education institutions, with immediate effect, suspend face to face lectures on campus and continue with e-learning. In this regard, all students should vacate halls of residence by Friday, 24 July 2020,” said Tagwira.

Professor Tagwira further said the Ministry was working flat out to ensure that all institutions were adequately resourced with the necessary infrastructure to facilitate access to quality e-learning.

The learning calendar at the country’s tertiary institutions has been interrupted by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and a bid to re-open the learning institutions has suffered a major blow after confirmed cases in the country spiralled to over 1800 with 26 people losing their lives to the pandemic.