Split views from unions on new school calendar

Education unions in the Eastern Cape are divided on the revised 2020 school calendar gazetted by the department of basic education at the weekend.

According to the new calendar, the school year will be completed on December 15 for Grade R to Grade 11 pupils.

Grade 12 pupils will complete exams by December 15, the marking of their final exams will be done by January 22 and their results will be released on February 23.

Loyiso Mbinda, the Eastern Cape CEO of the National Professional Teacher Organisation of SA (Naptosa), said the time frame given to complete the academic year would be a nightmare for quintile 1 to 3 schools.

“The situation will differ from school to school,” Mbinda said.

“Schools which are able to conduct virtual learning will continue to do so. However, poor schools will not have that opportunity.

“The revised calendar has further highlighted the inequalities within the SA education system,” Mbinda said.

The revised dates also would pose a challenge for teachers going into marking centres to mark matric exam papers. This was a strenuous process.

“Our wish is that by January we will be on alert level one so that teachers with underlying conditions will be able to take part in the marking process.

“If things continue the way they are, on alert level three or higher, it will put great deal of pressure on educators in the province while they mark Grade 12 papers.

“It means there will be fewer teachers allocated to those marking centres, with an overwhelmingly large number of papers to mark.

“Soon after the marking is complete next year, [teachers] will be expected to return to school a day after. This gives them no time to recuperate and recharge for the beginning of the school year,” Mbinda said.

But the Public Servants Association (PSA), which represents thousands of educators and administrative staff at schools across the country, said the new school calendar would afford the department of basic education “enough opportunity to prepare schools to ensure full compliance with the Covid19 regulations.”

PSA spokesperson Reuben Maleka said: “The department must ensure all role players in schools are trained on regulations and occupational safety and health administration as we don’t want to see another incident where principals hide infection incidents, followed by no disinfecting and cleaning.”

Maleka said the time frame given to complete the school academic year, especially for Grade 12 pupils, could be managed.

“Given the commitment by the department to provide resources to supplement classroom learning by using virtual tools that can afford learners the chance to continue remotely at any given time, the time should be sufficient to see Grade 12 able to write exams successfully.

“The circumstances of Covid19 and reduced schooling days can also be managed,” Maleka said.

On the start of the 2021 academic year, the department of basic education said schools would open on January 25.

“In terms of the new version of the calendar, schools will resume on August 24. There are 163 actual school days for teachers and 156 for learners,” the department said.