By STEPHANIE KUNDA –
THE Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) has urged Government to plan ahead on how pupils will recover the lost time following the delayed opening of schools as a result of the cholera outbreak in the country.
ZNUT general secretary Newman Bubala said there was need for relevant stakeholders to sit together and discuss a solution to recover the lost time,
“All those learning institutions that have been closed should be given recovery time to ensure pupils don’t lag behind in studies. Even reducing the number of holidays can be done just to ensure lost days are recovered for favourable results,” he said.
Mr Bubala also said that in reaction to  Movement for National Transformation’s (MNT) statement that the cut off points for grade seven and nine pupils was a barrier to education that the idea was in line with available classroom space.
He said the cut off point did not signify or have anything to do with the syllabus adding that if reformation of the education sector was to take place, it had to do with creation of more infrastructure.
Mr Bubala said even in the past, the cut off point system was there adding that cut off points was not the problem in the education sector.
Mr Bubala said the only answer was to build more space for learners adding that it was a long term programme that Government should to take up.
Mr Bubala said the other solution was recruitment of more teachers adding that it was all about more investment in the education sector.
He further added that if learners were directed at what they were good at, it would also help achieve better results adding that creation of more space was the only solution because even if the curriculum was changed, it would not change anything.