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Students union rejects online exams

by Kudakwashe Vhenge

By Tafadzwa Chigandiwa

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) has said it is against the online examinations proposed by tertiary institutions.

In a statement directed to the Higher and Tertiary education minister, ZINASU secretary general, Tapiwanashe Chiriga said schools must provide students with data bundles first if exams are to be written online.

Students have struggled to access virtual classrooms owing to challenges which range from power cuts, exorbitant data charges and poor network connection.

“A lot of students do not have gadgets to enable them access the said google classrooms for purpose of examinations, we caution against proceeding with online learning without providing students and lecturers with data bundles,” reads the statement.

ZINASU described the online system as elitist that will jeopardise the poor and rob them of their right to education as noted in section 75 of the Zimbabwean constitution.

“We would like to register our deepest disapproval to the elitist move that is meant to disenfranchise the poor of us who happen to constitute the majority of the student’s community.

“It would be a great injustice to deny them of their deserved right to sit for exams to end a semester they equally paid for, on account of poverty and a pandemic none of us invited.”

Moreover, apart from data bundles and gadgets to access google, ZINASU added that electric power cuts in the country it will also affect students.

“As you are obviously aware, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company has notified the entire nation of decrease in power supply which will mean a lot of students will be affected by power cuts on examination day,” the union said.

ZINASU’s statement comes after government through the ministry of higher and tertiary education is reportedly in a dilemma on how to avoid disturbance to its educational calender.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic schools were forced to close in order to avoid a surge in infections.

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