Pupils’ parents face difficult choice

MBOMBELA – Wary Lowveld parents were not convinced that sending their children would be safe. Education and teaching, especially at school level, has been a serious concern for weeks now. Local schools resorted to online and remote teaching after shutting their gates more than two months ago.

The Department of Basic Education has been hard-pressed to balance the safety of pupils and teachers on the one hand, while saving the academic year on the other.

Despite the tremendous effort that local schools have applied to ensure the safety of learners, many agree that children will only be sent back, once the lockdown restrictions have been lifted completely.

“When lockdown is over, my kids will go back to school. The numbers and stats are inaccurate as testing and screening are not up to standard. After lockdown where we have normal circumstances, that is when my kids will go back,” Charmaine Viljoen alleged.

“Why is everyone still in lockdown… because it’s not safe. So it’s not safe for kids then either. They don’t understand social distancing – they understand about playing together and sharing snacks. They sit in a class all cooped up together – where a normal flu already spreads like wildfire in winter.

So what, kids must become guinea pigs now? We’re meant to hit our highest infections in August/September and the children must be in between that,” Sheree’s van Lente said.

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“It’s not okay to open a nail bar, a hair salon, a furniture shop, the parliament. We cannot buy toys, for our kids’ birthday or educational toys but its okay to open schools. Who are we trying to fool? Leave my children where I can keep them safe. The government does not think about their safety of our kids,” said Chantelle Sanderson.

There were, however, some of readers who felt that sufficient provision had been taken to safeguard the safety of children.

“I’m a teacher, and I’m quite happy to go back to school. The point of the lockdown initially, was to slow the spread and to give the health department time to get ready. They are ready. Why delay the inevitable? I’d be happy to go back and teach my learners I miss them and I’m not sure how many of them are keeping up with the WhatsApp classes,” said Michele Dunn Minifie.

A local grade 11 pupil, Anke van Deventer, is of the opinion that we (as South Africans) are seeing the bigger picture.
“If this academic year goes to waste, the whole school system needs to change. We need to believe in our government and support it during this difficult time.

We need this school year and cannot throw it away. If we phase in back the schools can take grade per grade and teach them more about the virus and what is needed to stop the spread of Covid-19. There will forever be a gap in the country if we need to lose this academic year,” she said.

You have the choice to teach your child at home, but…

• Parents are encouraged to seek information from the school before deciding on the possibility of distance learning or homeschooling.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured parents that they will not be forced to send their children back to school when on-site learning resumes for grade seven and 12 pupils on June 1.

Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday evening, outlining that the country would move to
level 3 of the Covid-19 lockdown on June 1.

“It is understandable that there is some concern about the reopening of schools, and I must stress that no parent will be forced to send their child to school if they are worried about safety”.

He added that there would be strict control measures at schools, and water and sanitation infrastructure was being put in place to allow for physical distancing and regular hand washing.

Motshekga had previously also outlined that no parent would be forced to send their child to school and that homeschooling was an option available to parents.

She said schools would, however, have to be Covid-19 compliant and meet all safety measures before teaching and learning resumed. This includes having sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment, (PPE) which is currently being delivered to schools, and ensuring that there would be physical distancing by not having more than 20 pupils in a classroom.

However, various letters sent out by public schools echo the following (guided by the Department of Education):
Children in the age group seven to 15 years are subject to compulsory schooling.

Section 3 of the SA Schools Act imposes the responsibility on parents to ensure that their children attend school. Schools are required to do all in their power to ensure a safe environment for the learners, but are under no obligation to support the education of learners who remain at home unless the learner suffers from an underlying health condition that may increase the risk of infection to the Covid-19 virus.

In that case, it is better that the pupil remains at home. Learners requiring distance learning arrangements will have to produce medical certificates in support of that request.

Parents are guilty of a transgression of the law and may be subject to prosecution when they keep the child from attending school, but do not register their child for homeschooling.

The Schools Act stipulates in Section 51 that a parent may apply to the head of department of the Provincial Department of Education to be allowed to perform homeschooling.

Upon receipt of permission to conduct homeschooling, the learner will no longer be regarded as a learner at a public school. They must be registered with a curriculum service provider that can certify them for the specific grade.

Schools may not refuse a parent the right to withdraw a learner from the school. Unless the regulations of the provincial Department of Education indicate that it must, the school is under no obligation to support the education of the learner who has opted for homeschooling.

If they wish to retain and not lose learners, schools and school governing bodies may wish to consider whether they have the capacity and means to support distance learning.

Learners who were not registered for homeschooling have no proof of the year’s academic work and receive no formal certificate.

Any school will have the right to assess the quality of the teaching received during the homeschooling whether or not a certificate was issued.

When a learner wishes to return to a public school for the following year, it will be regarded as a new application subject to the availability of spaces school, and its admission policy.

The school has the right to conduct an assessment of the learner’s knowledge and skills to determine the specific grade most appropriate to the child. It should not be assumed that the learner will progress to the next grade with his/ her age cohort.

Parents are encouraged to seek information from the school before deciding on the possibility of distance learning or homeschooling.

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