Department ‘ready’ but unions are apprehensive

OVER 400 Kwazulu-natal schools have been burgled, vandalised and burned since the beginning of the lockdown and the Education Department is confident that these schools will be ready to open their doors to both teachers and pupils at the appointed time.

KZN Education Department spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa said assessments still needed to be conducted, and at some schools mobile classrooms would be provided while others received quick renovations.

“We are still finalising and want to see that everything is done accordingly,” he said. “Remember that it is not all grades that are going back to school at once.

“So if there are issues with a particular class, learners will be moved to available classes within the school. Learners are going to be divided to observe social distancing regulations. We will be ready.”

Mthethwa said feeding schemes would go ahead when schools reopened. “Learners will be able to eat. There will be few of them, so the numbers will be manageable,” he said. “We are busy right now finalising deliveries throughout the province.

We are confident that by June 1, we will be ready.”

Teacher unions have instructed their members not to report for duty should the schools not have PPE ready and if the required cleaning had not been done.

In a joint statement, the SA Democratic Teachers Union, SA Onderwysers Unie, National Professional Teachers of SA, National Teachers Union and Professional Educators’ Union said the provincial departments often fed the national department incorrect information which did not reflect the situation on the ground.

The unions conducted a “National Baseline Survey Of Principals on School Readiness” among 9365 schools across the country between last Saturday and Monday.

The survey revealed that 79% of the respondents reported not having received regulations on how to deal with health and safety issues. Sixty percent of the principals claimed to have not received any communication from their circuit managers, and 92% reported that offices had not been cleaned and sanitised.

“Considering the information given by the Basic Education minister and the results of the survey, it is clear that this might once again be one of those cases (where incorrect information has been filtered down), because there are definite discrepancies between the two sets of information.”

The statement by the unions said the plan by the National Department of Basic Education to assure the safety of the workers, pupils and parents was shrouded in vagueness, evaded realities and was a cause for concern.

“We, however, wish to make it clear that if PPE has not arrived at schools and the required cleaning has not taken place when teachers return on Monday, they are not to endanger their lives by entering such schools.”