The Zimbabwe Government has said all returning final year students from other countries who are enrolled at local universities will be required to produce Covid19 free certificates first, before they can be allowed to resume their studies.
This was revealed by Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development minister Professor Amon Murwira, according to a report carried in one state-controlled weekly publication.
Murwira also pointed out that the foreign nationals who are enrolled at tertiary institutions across Zimbabwe are also expected to undergo mandatory Covid19 quarantine for three weeks and get tested to ascertain their personal well-being before they can get the permission to resume open lectures.
Foreign learners who did not leave the country upon completion of their studies last semester, Murwira said, are however exempted from producing documentation certifying their Covid19 health conditions.
“Foreign students are coming under a special arrangement. We had students from Lesotho, Namibia and other countries in the region who were in their final year as well as those that would gradually return. As for Lesotho, the students were chartered back to Zimbabwe,” said Murwira.
He also indicated that the students are quarantined for coronavirus at their respective institutions of tertiary education while undertaking virtual lessons.
“As universities, we are doing our own testing. We have created quarantine facilities for students at universities,” Murwira stated.
“For instance, the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has quarantined the students at its hostels in town. Some foreign students at Midlands State University (MSU) have not returned to their countries so those ones are safe. National University of Science and Technology (Nust) is doing the same,” Sunday News quoted Murwira in a report.
The Minister further indicated that other returning students will gradually be welcomed into the country, saying at the present moment, they have been making use of online classes in line with existing Covid19 regulations.
Since the beginning of the national lockdown now revised to an indefinite Level 2 over three months ago, Zimbabwe has recorded a cumulative number of 561 Covid19 cases, with 135 people recovering while six locals have succumbed to the pandemic.
state media
Additional Reporting: Zwnews
