Call for schools to all open at full capacity

Schools across the country have been forced to implement the system to alleviate the effects of Covid-19 in crowded classrooms.

The rotation system was a directive from the minister of co-operative government and traditional affairs (Cogta).

But now the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has called for the rotational learning in primary schools to be terminated, despite the advice of the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19.

SAHRC spokesperson Gushwell Brooks said the commission obtained information that large numbers of primary schools around the country were continuing on rotational timetables and had applied to rotate in 2022 as well.

Brooks said the commission was aware of a vast majority of South African schools, especially in the Western Cape, having applied for rotational timetables for the 2022 academic year.

“The commission holds that rotational learning has a long-lasting negative impact on learning outcomes for children.”

The commission said negative impacts were specifically severe on cognitive, nutritional, and psycho-social costs, which exceeded the benefits of reduced Covid-19 infections from smaller class sizes.

Brooks said Cogta’s directive compromised the ability of primary schools to return to normal teaching and learning, notwithstanding reduced transmission and virus acquisition rates among teachers and learners in these schools as the majority of educators had been vaccinated.

“There was a low acquisition risk profile of primary school learners.”

Brooks said the commission agreed and called for all primary schools to open at full capacity.

“The commission has written to the ministers of basic education, health and Cogta, to call for an urgent meeting to discuss the termination of rotation in primary schools.

“This would essentially mean that the Cogta minister needs to amend her directive by deleting the one meter social distancing requirement in respect of primary schools,” he said.

Brooks said a discussion for the return to normal for high schools, should happen, in view of the fact that the health department has commenced with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for 12-year-olds.

In July, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) called on all stakeholders to “reimagine education” to help regain the ground lost.

It encouraged education stakeholders to take advantage of emerging technologies to accelerate education service delivery.

Unicef said since the Covid-19 pandemic, the education sector had been disrupted.

According to the organisation, South African schools were up to one year behind in their schooling curriculums, while others were 75% behind.

“Rotational attendance, sporadic school closures and days off for specific grades, have resulted in school children losing 54% of learning time.

“Some 400 000 to 500 000 learners have reportedly also dropped out of school altogether over the past 16-months.”

It said this was most likely for children living in informal urban and rural settings.

“The total number of school children not in school is now up to 750 000.”

Unicef South Africa representative Christine Muhigana said the reality was that South Africa could not afford to “lose another learner or another hour of learning time”.

“It is urgent that we get every child back into the classroom, safely,” said Muhigana.

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