The Principal Public Relations Officer in the ministry, Nomsah Zuze said that if they make students come to school an hour late it would mean extending that hour into the afternoon and thereby making them arrive home very late. She was speaking to Monitor after members of the public had questioned why students were being exposed to such cold weather, while the minister could easily change the timetable so that children go to school when it is a little warm.
However, Zuze stated that after the issue was raised as a motion in Parliament, two years back, they had consultations to that effect. "We realised that if the timetable starts an hour or two later it would mean extending those hours to the afternoon and it would again be exposing the children to a lot of danger on their way home," Zuze said. She indicated that most students in the rural areas walk long distances to school and it is better if they bear the weather and arrive home early in the afternoon. "Some people don't even have helpers at home so it would mean that their work schedule would be disturbed in the mornings," she said.
She noted that some examinations are marked during the end of winter term with the belief that the classrooms would be free. "If it is changed it would change a lot of things. The year is so short that it would not be possible to make it as people would want it to be, even though we are not comfortable with the children being exposed to such conditions," she said.
She further indicated that when the issue was raised in Parliament they introduced a mid term break in July that applies to both primary and secondary schools. She said they consulted with the Meteorological Services then, who confirmed that mid July is the coldest time of the year.
