It boils down to what parents want for children

THE plan by the Department of Basic Education to bring back educators and members of school management teams from tomorrow has been met with mixed reaction.

The coming week will be used to prepare for the return of Grade 12 and Grade 7 from June 1.

Those who are against this plan point to the many challenges that beset the department, most of which predate the reality that Covid-19 brought.

Unions have a number of non-negotiables that they need to be met before teachers can return to school tomorrow.

It is clear most provinces, with the exception of Gauteng, are a bit ill-prepared for the resumption of classes.

Parents are worried about sending their children back to school when there’s no vaccine available and the decision was taken by people sitting in virtual meetings to avoid getting infected.

Those who are in support of the reopening of schools are of the view that learners cannot afford to fall behind on the syllabus and prolonging the suspension of classes would mean that they lose out on the chance to go to tertiary institutions after matric, and high school for Grade 7s next year.

It’s quite difficult to argue why schools should be indefinitely closed.

Although private schools have managed to continue with virtual classes through online learning, for most parents whose children go to public schools the data costs have proved to be a hurdle.

When schools were abruptly closed in March, the number of infections stood at 61.

Today more than 20 000 people have tested positive and close to 400 have died. So the fear of Covid-19 is real.

Those who cannot afford homeschooling face a conundrum of sending their children to school or risk their losing out of the rest of the year.

It may boil down to each parent deciding which one is a lesser evil for their children, the risk of infection or sitting idle at home.

Something has to give.