Parents, students protest against opening of schools
The return-to-school process has been a tumultuous time for many, as certain schools have found themselves closed due to protest action from concerned parents, while others have seen reduced attendance numbers with parents hesitant to send their children back to school.
After nearly a month of Grade 7 and 12 learners being back at school, minister of basic education Angie Motshekga announced last Sunday that the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) agreed that only Grade R, 6 and 11 learners would return to school on Monday 6 July (in addition to Grade 7 and 12). She also clarified that there would be a reprieve for provinces which were not ready to take in the Grade R learners. Despite this and amid contention from some parents, the majority of local schools opened their doors to Grade R learners on Monday 6 July.
Concerned parents
In Knysna there were protests at Concordia and Thembelitsha primary schools, with the former managing to continue with its school day while the latter was not able to conduct any schooling on Monday. There are 11 public schools that facilitate Grade R learners in Knysna and its surrounding areas, nine of which welcomed back their little ones on Monday. Seven of these schools were willing to disclose their numbers, and showed an average of 25% attendance. In Plettenberg Bay, four of the six schools disclosed their figures, indicating an average attendance of 35% by Grade R learners.
The numbers were higher when it came to the Grade 6 learners, however, with nine of the 12 Greater Knysna schools showing an average of 55% attendance. In Plettenberg Bay, four of the six schools welcomed their Grade 6 learners, at an average attendance rate of 67%.
One of the parents who was involved in arranging the protest at Concordia Primary, Veronica Williams, has a Grade 6 child at the school, and is not happy with the call for learners to return. "Even though the school has all necessary measures in place to reassure the parents, we are not happy that the minister and department are forcing our children to return to school," she said. "It is still not safe, and my child is still not back at school yet."
'They have no right'
Western Cape minister of education Debbie Schäfer expressed her dismay at parents protesting: "I reiterate that by law no one other than the HoD may close a school.
Parents are allowed to apply through their school to keep their own child at home if they are anxious about Covid-19, but they have no right whatsoever to prevent other people’s children from going to school," Schäfer said.
In Knysna and Plettenberg Bay's high schools, the majority of Grade 11 learners returned to school. Three of the four public high schools in Knysna showed a 65% attendance record while in Plett there was a 75% attendance record among two of the three public high schools on Monday, with Murray High School the only school that closed its doors.
When it comes to the number of Covid-19 cases in schools, Schäfer's spokesperson Kerry Mauchline indicated that in the Eden and Central Karoo district, 30 schools have reported at least one positive case. "There have been 49 cases in total at schools; 25 learners and 24 staff," she said. Western Cape department of health spokesperson Nadia Ferreira revealed that of the confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Knysna and Bitou subdistricts, "less than 5%" are children (18 and under).