Residents of Beit Bridge town in Zimbabwe are sending their children to schools in Musina in droves, following uncertainty over the reopening of schools in that country.

Residents who spoke to Mirror revealed that they are now being forced to transfer their children to neighbouring schools in Musina. One such resident is Mr Marko Mudau of Beit Bridge, who says: “I had to take my two daughters to Musina where they are now attending school, because there is no hope that schools in Zimbabwe will reopen.”

The local schools were scheduled to re-open last week, but teachers refused to report for duty until their demands to have their salaries paid in American dollars were met by that country’s government.

“The salaries that we are getting in Zimbabwean dollars are virtually useless because one can hardly buy a loaf of bread, so we want to be paid in foreign currency. If the government does not attend to our problems, we will not go back to work,” said a member of the local teachers’ representative body, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association.

The problem of the education system in the neighbouring country has been compounded further by the fact that some of the teachers are also leaving the country in search of greener pas-tures in South Africa and Botswana.

Principals at schools in Musina who spoke to Mirror confirmed that they had admitted Zimbabwean students at their schools.

“We normally admit Zimbabwean students with asylum permits and transfer letters from their previous schools, and I can confirm that we have quite a number of Zimbabweans at our school,” said a senior official at Musina High School.

The official added that some of the prospective students were being assisted by a local Dutch Reformed Church pastor to acquire places at local schools.

The principal of Eric Louw High school confirmed to Mirror that they had students from Zimbabwe, but she was quick to refer this paper to the circuit manager, Dr Phaswana, for further comment. However, despite concerted efforts to contact the circuit manager, he could not be reached on his mobile phone.