Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has engaged in a catch-up strategy meant to cover up for the lost teaching time during the Covid-19  pandemic lockdowns.

The contact from the Ministry said, “The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has engaged in a catch-up strategy so as to catch-up with the lost teaching time during the Covid-19 pandemic country shutdowns. Schools were affected as the Government would embark on business shutdowns to stop the spread of the invisible enemy.

“A workshop for the appreciation of the strategy was conducted on 24 March 2022 at Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) offices in Mount Pleasant, Harare.”

The contact revealed that the catch-up strategy is being facilitated by the Department of Primary and Secondary Non Formal Education (PSNE). He added that the strategy was being funded by UNICEF and UK Aid.

He said the strategy was guided by four elements namely, Compression of the syllabi, Provision of alternative learning platforms, Provision of additional teaching and learning materials and Training personnel.

The contact said that the compression of the syllabi was in line with the Accelerated Learning Programme which has seen six out of the twelve modules used for teaching compressed.

He further said that teachers were expected to identify challenges that were faced with students in their line of study with a view to strengthening these areas through helping these students to catch up swiftly.

The academia have commended this teaching strategy saying that it is a very thoughtful idea as it aims at ensuring that the students cover the lost time and are able to write their examinations after finishing the syllabi.