Unions fret over pupils’ safety amid reopening

MINISTER of Basic Education Angie Motshekga was locked in a meeting with unions last night ahead of the reopening of schools tomorrow.

The meeting followed concerns raised by the unions that they did not want to compromise the health and safety of pupils and teachers when they go back to school. SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said yesterday it wanted to ensure there was safety at schools. He said the union backed the minister to reopen schools, but there must be safety measures in place and this should not be compromised.

“Our position has always been that we want all schools to have health safety compliance. We support the reopening of schools as long as all the schools are compliant. To us compliance is important but it can’t be above lives,” said Maluleke.

Department of Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga could not be reached for comment.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize weighed in on the debate yesterday, saying schools would have to be reopened as the Covid-19 pandemic would be with us for some time.

President Cyril Ramaphosa had indicated as well that the coronavirus would be around for the next 18 months to two years.

Mkhize said children would have to return to school.

“We are saying the pandemic is going to be with us for a long time. We can’t abandon schooling and economic activity. We can see some children are doing e-learning, but the bulk of the children don’t have activity to be part of e-learning. This is a problem of us trying to work together,” said Mkhize.

Mkhize’s deputy, Joe Phaahla, said the fight against Covid-19 was a marathon.

Maluleke said they need to strengthen the safety protocols at schools when children go back.

Motshekga pushed the reopening of schools, for Grades 7 and 12, forward by a week after an uproar by some of the unions which complained that some of the schools were not ready, particularly in poor communities. There was no protective personal equipment (PPE) for teachers and pupils.

The department has proposed the phasing in of pupils’ return to school. Grade 12 pupils will have to sit their exams this year. The department has also set up a programme for pupils to catch up when they return. One of the measuresis to curtail sports and other extramural activities in order to focus on learning.

In a joint statement last week the unions said they wanted to meet with the minister and that schools could not reopen until all the non-negotiables had been met.

“We therefore advise all schools, even those that might be ready to reopen, having received all the necessary materials for teachers and learners, not to reopen for learners until the non-negotiables have been delivered to all schools and to inform their learners accordingly,” said the teacher unions.