Let's keep schools open

The decision not to postpone spring holidays when the department of basic education is behind with curriculum, is regrettable.

Minister Angie Motshekga told parliamentarians this week that it was not true the department had planned to cancel the October break. “What we have committed ourselves to as a department was that we are going to look for days in the remaining days to compensate for those lost. It’s not scrapping,” she said.

This comes after department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga told our sister publication TimesLive last week that they had had talks with unions about the likelihood of postponing the holidays, but a final decision had not been reached on the issue. The holidays will take place from October 4 to 8.

Motshekga’s announcement was a U-turn by the department that some may interpret as bowing to pressure because the unions were unhappy with the plan, citing the “risk of burnout” for teachers and pupils.

Teachers and pupils have spent more time at home than in classrooms this year, therefore it is strange that anyone could suggest exhaustion as a reason not to scrap holidays.

Every industry in the world has been affected by Covid-19. Workers are stressed and fatigued but operations continue to keep economies going. In the education sector children have to learn and be ready for the next grade to avoid problems in future; a week’s holiday is not too much to sacrifice for all involved.

The recommendation to skip holidays should have been welcomed, especially as the department recently released findings of its research that it lost between 50% and 75% of the normal teaching year. Since Covid-19 hit SA last year, pupils have been taught on a rotational basis to reduce the number of infections in schools.

The country’s vaccination drive has slowly picked up but we are not where we should be. What will happen to the 2021 class if we experience another wave and are forced to close? It would be in the pupils’ interests to use the time we have now to learn as much as possible, as Covid-19 has made life unpredictable.

Let’s keep schools open in October to recover lost time.