Mutare, ZIMBABWE — On a gloomy day in a squatter camp located near Sakubva, a filthy densely populated suburb in Mutare—the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, 14-year old Mirriam Sundayi is taking down clothes from a hipped rust coated fence which they use as ‘washing line’ at their makeshift house.
This was the last household chore this young girl could do before taking an hour studying and later going to play with her friends at a neighboring makeshift house.
Sundayi is in Grade 6 at Sakubva Primary but she has not been going to school since late March when President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave a directive for schools and universities to close early to curb the possible spread of a global pandemic, Coronavirus, that has infected over 42 people and claimed the lives of four in Zimbabwe.
She said her teacher has since created a group on WhatsApp, the most popular social media platform in Africa, to help pupils study during this 63-day lockdown imposed by Mnangagwa administration.
Sundayi does not have a personal cell phone as her self-employed parents cannot afford to buy her one, so she uses her mother’s smartphone but it is hardly paid up with WhatsApp bundles.
When schools closed in March other teachers moved to online learning but the migration is hitting a brick wall as there are high digital inequalities in Zimbabwe.
“Each time I borrow my mom’s phone it is always without WhatsApp bundles. Therefore, I am not getting resources some of my classmates are getting online. My mom says she cannot afford to purchase Whatsapp bundles,” Sundayi told Ubuntu Times with a melancholic voice.
Most people in Zimbabwe access internet using their mobile devices but Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile service providers Econet Wireless and Netone have reviewed upwards more than three times their social media and internet data bundles since early March as inflation soars.
The Southern African nation is experiencing its worst economic malaise in decades. In March this year, its yearly inflation rate was at 810 percent, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Recently, Econet Wireless hiked its monthly 25 Gigabytes private Wifi bundle, a favorite for many families, from 400 (8 USD) to 1,300 Zimbabwean Dollars (37 USD).
This is beyond the reach of many families as the average salary of civil servants in the country is Zim $2,000 (44 USD) per month of which the consumer basket as of April was at Zim $6,660 (148 USD), according to a survey conducted by the Industry and Commerce Ministry.
In April, Media Institute of Southern Africa–Zimbabwe Chapter (Misa Zimbabwe) launched the #DataMustFallZim campaign to push the government to intervene to ensure citizens access affordable data prices.
Tabani Moyo, a national director at Misa Zimbabwe, told Ubuntu Times that data is no longer for the privileged elite as it used to be but should be accessed by all citizens.
“Everything has changed due to Coronavirus. All services have gone online, hence, the need for the Government and other stakeholders to come up with a sustainable pricing for data and internet access in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“This is critical in that if you leave data and internet service price to profit interest alone it will lead to inequalities as profit-making does not do public good.”
Daisy Zambuko, a spokesperson for Zimbabwe Teachers Association, told Ubuntu Times that they were equally shocked by the hiking of data bundles at a time they were trying to introduce online lessons inclusive to all including the most vulnerable groups.
Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) Director-General Gift Machengete said the internet prices which were set by mobile service providers were within the prescribed charges of 0.30 cents per megabyte.
Another pupil, 13-year old Tawananyasha Dudzai, in the 5th grade at Murahwa Primary School, said her mother struggles to buy WhatsApp bundles.
“My teacher is giving us work via WhatsApp every day. Last week I did not have WhatsApp bundles and I was not doing work. Right now I am behind,” he said.
Obert Masaraure, Amalgamated of Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president, told Ubuntu Times that he believed online learning is fueling inequality among learners.
“The marginalized learners who barely have access to physical teaching instructions are completely shut out from learning,” he said.
Masaraure added that his union through their WhatsApp online classes that started in April had reached over 5,000 Primary and Secondary School students but it was becoming unsustainable.
“Our choice for WhatsApp classes was informed by the low bandwidth used for WhatsApp. Our teachers are now struggling to sustain the classes,” he said.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is working extensively with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to develop alternative learning platforms for children during this pandemic, including the development of radio and television learning.
To date 52 radio lessons have been produced, said UNICEF Zimbabwe spokesperson James Maiden adding that they are being finalized for launch.
Fungayi Mandiveyi, an Econet Wireless spokesperson, said they had introduced an E-learning discounted data bundle for teachers and students to continue learning in the comfort of their homes.
“The average price of bundles is $1.83 per megabyte. The offer is for at least 50 mobile numbers (for students and teachers). Each school pays on behalf of its students and teachers and collects money from parents,” he said.
Lizwe Runoza, a student at Midlands State University, told Ubuntu Times that researching over the internet consumes much data of which that is the only alternative available to access literature since they cannot go to the library under the current lockdown restrictions.
Ashley Pfunye, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe National Students Union said the idea of online learning comes as another burden to students who are already in an impoverished state.
“Institutions and governments must stop to make announcements without carefully considering and preparing the affected constituency for the changes they intend to make,” he said.
Professor Amon Murwira, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister, said they were working with various stakeholders to come up with a workable solution to online learning problems.
“We are confronting this problem with solutions. We are trying to be systematic. First stage is to put the learning material online and the second stage is we come up with methods that enable students to access that material online,” he said.
It seems most learners particularly those who are not writing exams this year and non-final year at colleges and universities, will remain home for more weeks considering some of their learning institutions are being used as quarantine centers for citizens coming back home.
While the government is working with mobile service providers and non-governmental organizations to find solutions to online learning setbacks, in the meantime, Sundayi is reading notes from her exercise books and revising past exam scripts but her biggest fear is that she is lagging behind as her other classmates with access to WhatsApp and internet are moving along with the syllabus.
“I just pray we have lessons on radio. There is no electricity here but radio at least I can listen from my mom’s phone,” she said.