The chairperson of the portfolio committee of Basic Education, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, urged all learners to set aside dedicated time for school work during lockdown.
According to the chairperson, the committee was briefed on the Department of Basic Education’s precautionary measures.
“As part of the committee’s oversight responsibility, I and other members of Parliament have been monitoring resources made available to learners,” said Mbingo-Gigaba.
“I am confident that with the content noted on the DBE’s website and social media platforms, coupled with resources from various social partners, our learners have sufficient material to keep them busy so that when formal schooling resumes, they have not missed out on much schoolwork or are on par.”
She urged learners to make use of the television programmes and all digital platforms that were made available.
“I want to further commend schools that have also made resources available and have educators that communicate with learners via email or WhatsApp, where they might experience challenges. These extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and thinking outside the box.”
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The chairperson advised Grade 12 learners in particular to use their time wisely.
“Every effort should be made to ensure that this group of learners does not fall behind. We, as a community, should unite behind them and assist wherever we can to ensure our matrics work sufficiently during this time.”
Mbinqo-Gigaba said learners cannot do this on their own. “This can only happen if we have a concerted effort by all stakeholders to ensure our learners stay focused. We should stand together to make this work.”
During the briefing from DBE last month, the committee heard that the school calendar will be amended to make up for the lost days of schooling.
The June 2020 vacation will be shortened by seven days and the September one by two days. All school activities will be either scaled down, suspended or cancelled.
This includes spelling bees, moot court, school athletics, school camps and assemblies.
The committee further heard that the situation will be monitored daily and communication will only occur via one channel to avoid confusion.
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