Time for department to get house in order

THE closure of government schools across the country – with the vast majority of pupils away from their desks for almost a month – must be seen as a golden opportunity by the

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education to finally get its house in order.

This is particularly relevant with the release of provincial government Covid-19 infection numbers last week which have revealed that 1 569 department staff have contracted the virus – a figure only 139 fewer than that of KZN’s Department of Health. The infections were identified in 621 of KZN’s schools, with uMgungundlovu worst affected with 120 and uMkhanyakude least affected with 15 schools notified in that district.

While we acknowledge that Covid19 figures are a moving statistic and that they are a reflection of what is happening in our communities, the DoE numbers are disturbing.

The bottom line is that KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu and his department have a duty to ensure that all schools are fully compliant in terms of Covid-19 regulations in order to prevent the further spread of the virus – a situation that has been lacking in weeks gone by. This includes the allocation of sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), fixing of water tanks and timeous provision of these, replacing pit latrines and properly resolving the issues of space and furniture to accommodate more grades as they are phased back in. This must be their top priority before pupils return.

It is clear that teamwork across the board – between parents, pupils and teachers and the department – is going to be needed to curb the further spread of infection as we face the full brunt of the peak of this pandemic.

DR IMRAN KEEKA, MPL | DA KZN spokesperson on education