ZINASU UZ Chapter, Lennox Sankara who is the Secretary for  Legal and Academic Affairs Pens an Open Letter to the University of Zimbabwe in response to the circular from the University insisting reopening of the institution for examinations

University of Zimbabwe

P.O Box MP 167

Mt Pleasant

Harare

08 January 2021

The Dean

Dr Munyaradzi Madambi

Dear Sir

REF: RESPONSE TO THE CIRCULAR FROM THE SCHOOL INSISTING THE RE-OPENING OF THE INSTITUTION FOR EXAMINATION ON THE 20th OF JANUARY

The above subject is made and refers.

It has come to our attention as the Student’s union the circular which has been heralded and issued out by the Pro-Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs Prof Moyana on the 6th of January 2021 and referred to all the Deans.  We have noted that the circular is insisting on the re- opening of the institution for the first batch to write their examinations on the 20th of this month of which we consider unsafe for the health of not only us as students but our lecturers also, our families and the umbrella nation at large. After having received the circular we thereby made some consultations with all students from different faculties and the student’s position is clear, firm and straight forward that the decision to reopen the school puts our health at risk. Considering the skyrocketing nature of Covid-19 cases recorded daily by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, it will be ignorant to order the re-opening of the institution at a time when the entire nation is failing to contain, restrict and manage the pandemic.

ZINASU as always expects the democratic avenue of making a decision that is pro-students as we believe that anything for students without students is not for students. The union therefore advises the University to:

1). Retract it’s circular and cancel the scheduled re-opening of the institution on the proposed date,

2). Perpetuate with e-learning and disburse the data to the residue of Students who have not received their package for the leaning process to become cheap since those students had already paid for that data package,

3) Coordinate and call students through their respective representatives for a meeting to state their position on re-opening by the time the institution deem safe to reopen.

We are looking forward for a positive response from you. Keep safe. Don’t forget to sanitize and mask up, Covid is real.

Yours Faithfully

ZINASU UZ CHAPTER

cc:LENNOX SANKARA

Secretary for  Legal and Academic Affairs