Unions slam early school return

UNIONS have slammed the government for its decision to have teachers return to school early. This comes after Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule said their decision was taken after consultation with education stakeholders who were all “united”.

Mhaule said school management teams (SMTs) would report for duty on January 25, teachers on February 1 and pupils on February 15. Private schools that have already reopened would need to postpone their reopening to the new date.

But teachers’ union Naptosa said the decision that teachers will return to school three weeks before pupils “lacks basic logic” and its executive director, Basil Manuel, said the union is seeking “urgent clarity”.

“Firstly, we were consulted and we had agreed as unions that