Outcry over school restart

When thousands of children countrywide return to schools next week, pupils from Filadelfia Secondary School in Soshanguve, outside Pretoria, will be staying at home because the department of education has closed the school after two teachers tested positive for Covid-19.

This adds to the 775 schools nationwide which the department confirmed have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The school was officially closed on Monday after the teachers’ results were confirmed positive.

According to a letter sent to the parents by school management, it was not yet known where they could have contracted the virus.

The letter reads, in part: “... we have taken a difficult but necessary decision to close the school from Monday 29 June to 13 July.

“We have quarantined the four [pupils] who had contact with [a] staff member at the hostel.

“The management of the school has therefore applied for deviation on the phased-in return of [pupils] to schools and will accordingly welcome the Grade 9, 11 and 12 [pupils] back on 13 July.

Pupils in Grade 8 and 10 would be informed at a later stage about their date of return.

Meanwhile, pupils at Bantwane Primary School in Dennilton, Limpopo, are still waiting for the departments of education and health to give them the green light after the school was closed on Friday, precipitated by reports that a teacher had tested positive for Covid-19.

A parent, Seun Mogotji, said yesterday: “We are concerned about the health of our children...

“We want to know why the management did not report to the parents and the pupils in time.

“We were afraid some of our children might have also contracted the virus.

“We call upon both the department of education and of health to do things by the book by applying all Covid-19 rules and regulations before we carry coffins to the cemetery as a result of their ignorance.”

At WM Kgatla Primary School in Kgapane, where school came to an abrupt halt after a teacher tested positive for Covid-19, things were back to normal after being closed for seven days.

The Limpopo department of basic education reported yesterday that two of its staff members had tested positive.

Departmental spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene said one was in hospital and the other was in self-quarantine.

All offices were closed for cleaning and disinfection.