Time for minister to blow whistle on this school year

THE Council of Education Ministers said on Tuesday one of the main reasons for the phased reopening of schools was “to make sure the unfettered right to basic education for all children is equitably provided”.

So the department is ticking the box which says children must be provided with education, but at what cost, and is the education being provided in the current circumstances equitable? What does “equitably” mean in this situation?

Minister Angie Motshekga and her officials made several promises to assure parents, teachers and pupils that it is safe for classes to continue.

They promised pupils would observe physical distancing: the reality is that there is no distancing in our packed public schools.

Schools are not implementing platoon classes, and the department has not provided additional teachers to ensure classes can be divided.

They promised schools would be disinfected and provided with sanitising equipment: the reality is classes are not being sanitised between lessons, although pupils are moving between classes.

The department has implemented lessons on radio and TV, and made available material on the web. However, not all households have radios or TVs, and load shedding ensures that even where these are available, pupils cannot use them.

There is evidence that teachers and pupils are bringing the virus to school and are transmitting it to colleagues, as has been demonstrated at several schools in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and elsewhere.

In addition, the majority of pupils travel to school by taxi, which industry has been authorised to operate at 100% capacity. This means no distancing for the trips to and from school – one of the basic requirements to prevent transmission of the virus – and places not just pupils at risk, but their friends and teachers at school, and those they go home to.

Matric pupils lost out on three months of classes during the hard lockdown, and aside from broadcast lessons – which not all pupils can access – there is no effort to help them through a year which could define the course of the rest of their lives.

It is time for Motshekga to admit that this year is a bust. Close down all schools immediately, and plan to repeat the year as soon as it is deemed safe for classes to resume.