Schools to reopen in a phased manner
• Minister says government is willing to take flexible approach to private, small and special needs schools
Schools across SA will open on June 1 in a phased manner, starting with grades 12 and 7, basic education minister Angie Motshekga says. The plan, approved by the cabinet and the national command council on Covid-19 backs away from a proposal put to teachers’ unions and other interest groups last week, which suggested schools in areas with high transmission of the disease remain shut, and face-to-face teaching resumes for only grade 12 learners.
Schools across SA will open on June 1 in a phased manner, starting with grades 12 and 7, basic education minister Angie Motshekga announced on Tuesday evening.
The plan, approved by the cabinet and the national command council on Covid-19 backs away from a proposal put to teacher unions and other interest groups last week, which suggested schools in areas with high transmission of the disease remain shut, and face-to-face teaching resumes for grade 12 pupils only.
That plan, a copy of which Business Day has seen, proposed that schools in SA’s metros — where transmission of the disease is highest — remain closed, effectively shuttering a fifth of the country’s 25,475 schools. However, the Council of Education Ministers, which includes education MECs and heads of department, agreed on Monday that all provinces and regions should move at the same pace, said the minister.
The minister sent a strong signal that the government is willing to take a flexible approach to private schools, small and special needs schools, and is considering opening early childhood education centres sooner rather than later.
“We are engaging with private schools as a different sector with different challenges. There will be a different approach depending on the circumstances,” she said during a briefing broadcast on national television.
During the phased reopening of schools pupils are expected to return in fortnightly intervals, in stages descending through the grades in tandem in secondary and primary schools so that the youngest children return last.
A revised school calendar, setting out new term dates, will shortly be published in the government gazette, she said.
The government ordered schools to close shortly before Easter, less than two weeks after
SA’s first case of Covid-19 was confirmed on March 5. The department of basic education has repeatedly delayed announcing its plans for the resumption of face-to-face teaching, as it grapples with how to balance the health risks of opening schools with the potential harm of keeping them closed.
Delays in opening schools have implications not only for pupils’ education, but also for the reopening of the economy, since many parents depend on schools to safeguard their children while they are at work. While level 4 of SA’s lockdown permits households to employ domestic childcare, this is unaffordable for most families.
Schools also provide vital meals to about 9.6-million children from poor households.
Motshekga acknowledged that disruption to schooling has potentially far-reaching effects for pupils. The plan for reopening schools has been guided by the department of health and by experience gained in other countries.
“Our plans had to go to the NCC [national command council] for risk assessment, guided by facts,” she said.
The minister has faced vocal public opposition from unions over plans to reopen schools, as many provincial education departments have yet to convince teachers that they will be returning to a safe working environment.
About “80% of schools have reported no deliveries of PPE [personal protective equipment],” National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA president Basil Manuel told Business Day on Tuesday.
Motshekga said supplies had been delivered to provincial depots and will be monitored closely to ensure schools have the equipment they need.
She said the department of basic education has entered into an agreement with the department of human settlements, water & sanitation and Rand Water to ensure that no school goes without water. “Just-in-time delivery will be made,” she said.
The national education department told parliament in April that 3,500 schools had “critical water supply issues”.
The National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations has previously said it had asked the department of basic education to consider giving private schools the flexibility to resume face-to-face teaching for more grades, rather than relying on the phased approach, if they could safely do so. There are 1,966 private schools in SA, out of a total of 25,745 schools.
As of Tuesday, SA had recorded 17,200 cases of Covid19 and 312 deaths, according to the department of health.
ABOUT 80% OF SCHOOLS HAVE REPORTED NO DELIVERIES OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT