SAHRC in bid to ensure schools open

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga is today meeting various education MECS following an intervention by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which said it wants schools to be ready to open on Monday.

The chapter nine institution intervened after being approached by teachers’ unions, as they said their call for provinces to provide enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to all schools had fallen on deaf ears.

Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said Motshekga would meet education MECS to discuss issues raised by the unions.

“As for the SA Human Rights Commission, we met them this past week and agreed to continue formal engagements with them, using appropriate channels,” said Mhlanga.

SAHRC commissioner Andre Gaum said the commission would make sure that the provinces work around the clock to prepare all schools to open without problems.

The department had been forced to postpone reopening schools from June 1 to June 8, as many teachers and pupils had not received the necessary PPE.

“We are going to get to a point where schools will reopen. Therefore our focus now is specifically on the delivery of essentials to schools – like PPE and water. Therefore we will apply pressure to provinces to deliver as far as that is concerned,” said Gaum.

He added that they had asked Motshekga

to amend the schools’ Covid-19 regulations to allow provision for alternative measures for schools that would still not be ready on June 8.

“She (Motshekga) has amended the regulations and now it does make provision for alternative measures. So we will be in contact with the provinces to find out what the alternative measures are, as we are defending the rights of pupils whose schools are not ready to open,” said Gaum.

The commission had also slammed Motshekga for allowing the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to proceed with teaching and learning this week, before other provinces.

In a statement released this week, the SAHRC said it would approach the

High Court if the Western Cape schools, which opened on Monday, continued operating instead of waiting for others.

“The commission was ready to approach the High Court to interdict the WCED from continuing with teaching and learning this week.

“The commission will monitor schools throughout the country to ensure that effective learning takes place and that no pupils are unduly disadvantaged by the inability of schools to open and provide learning,” read a statement from the commission.

Suid-afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU) executive director Chris Klopper said the SAHRC’S intervention was because “provinces were not delivering”.

“So if the SAHRC can assist in ensuring that all PPE is delivered by Monday, we will gladly welcome that. The provinces are not delivering and it has been two months now. How difficult is it to get those masks delivered to schools?” he asked.

National Teachers’ Union (Natu) president Alan Thompson said after being approached by the unions – Naptosa, Natu, Sadtu, Professional Educators Union (PEU) and SAOU – the SAHRC immediately warned Motshekga about possible court action if she insisted on opening certain schools ahead of others.

“We are also expecting the SAHRC to take the Westen Cape government to court for proceeding with teaching and learning, while other provinces are being deprived of an opportunity to do that,” he said.

He added that the unions would meet the minister in Pretoria this afternoon to raise their concerns about June 8, as they felt that many schools would still be without PPE on the date.

Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Kerry Mauchline confirmed that Education MEC Debbie Schäfer had been contacted by the SAHRC, but said schooling in the province would continue.

“The longer that schools remain closed, the wider the gap will become between those learners who cannot access education through digital alternatives at home (in our poorer communities in the main), and those who can and do.

“Preventing schools that are ready to open from doing so will only serve to further increase this gap,” she said.

Motshekga to meet MECS to discuss a way forward on reopening of schools