KZN schools set to reopen

THE provincial Education Department will adhere to the directive handed down by Education Minister Angie Motshekga that schools will reopen on June 1 for Grades 7 and 12 pupils.

On Thursday, a virtual meeting between the MEC for Education, various departmental heads and stakeholders convened to discuss the reopening of schools and voice concerns while the fight against Covid-19 continues.

Motshekga’s announcement garnered mixed reactions – from fear to confusion and excitement.

Vee Gani from KZN’S Parents Association said teachers and parents were fearful while pupils just wanted to get on with their lives.

Gani said the longer government waited to reopen schools the more difficult it would become.

“This virus does not have a guaranteed expiration date and schools are going to have to reopen. Suggestions were thrown around that they should only reopen in July or September but that is time we will never get back. One of the biggest fears is that after a break like this, not many pupils will return. Will their schools be prepared to accept them back? Will they drop out or will parents be so scared that they won’t send children?” Gani said.

He said the department made it clear that should a parent not wish to send their child back to school, the alternative had to be homeschooling.

However, Matakanye Matakanye, general secretary for the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB), said social inequalities and non-negotiables still needed to be addressed.

“Schools must have running water, personal protective equipment, sanitised facilities and fences so strangers cannot walk in off the street. These are non-negotiable but unfortunately, not a reality in many schools across the country. How do schools in deep rural areas routinely have students wash hands when they have no water? But how do these poor families homeschool their children without the resources? This cannot be a case where the rich progress and poor suffer.”

Matakanye said the NASGB would not approve the reopening of schools if solutions are not found to put these concerns to rest.

“At the end of the day, teachers, pupils and parents are scared as they are exposing themselves to Covid-19 so the department need to play ball. Safety is paramount. PPE cannot be left at off-school sites and not be delivered, teachers with co-morbidities must be accommodated and the transport they use must be safe. We need transparency and safety guarantees.”

He said they would formulate a plan for additional grades should the reopening be deemed a success.

Chief executive for the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools, Paul Colditz, said the department said provinces would be trusted with ensuring their schools reopened.

“Provinces are scurrying to have protocols and standard operating procedures put in place to ensure safety. The national department has made it clear that local leadership will understand their schools better and would know what is best and national will simply provide the support.”

Colditz said in Gauteng schools had been separated into two groups, those who can and those who cannot afford to sanitise and prepare for reopening.

In KZN, school principals and school governing bodies were instructed to source sanitisation and deep cleansing of schools for three months.

A daily allowance, stipulated on the size of classrooms, would be provided by the department. Small schools with nine classrooms would receive R150, medium schools with 15 classrooms R200, large schools with 25 classrooms R250 and mega schools which had over 25 classrooms and hostels would receive R300 per day.

But Colditz said the budgets the provinces provided would not be enough and SGBS would have to make arrangements to meet the shortfalls.