Government has not yet set a date for schools opening

It was not so true to that the date of reopening has been set
Schools reopening date will be announced by government

Mbabane: The Ministry of Education and Training Lady Howard-Mabuza has refuted the reports that schools will open in two weeks.

This follows reports by one of the local newspapers, Eswatini Observer that schools were set to open on March 23, 2020.

“There is not yet a set date for schools opening but the ministry was working around the clock to ensure a safe return for students in class”.

In a telephone interview with this reporter the Minister said it was not so true to that the date of reopening has been set, the minister said they were still in consultations with stakeholders and they will embark on a process of visiting all schools across all four regions to ensure that they were ready for opening.

Howard-Mabuza said the ministry has a check list which will be used to check if schools were ready for safe opening.

She said the powers of closing and opening of schools are with government, “all the ministry does is to report and advise and act on decisions that has been taken by government.

“We want to state it clear that there is not yet a confirmed date for reopening, a special team within the ministry has been assigned to go to the schools to ensure that they were safe for reopening, I myself as the minister of education will also form part of the delegation that will be checking the schools for readiness”. “Schools reopening date will be announced by government, so far no date has been announced”, she said.

Schools in the country were closed in March 2020 after the discovery of the first Covid-19 case in Eswatini. As means to curb the spread of the virus, Eswatini implemented lockdowns which led to the closure of schools.

Despite schools closure pupils especially the finishing grades has been learning through radio, television and online leaning.