‘It’s possible that Limpopo schools may not reopen on 1 June’

The phased-in re-opening of schools in Limpopo on 1 June is at this point regarded as a possibility, as among others, the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) remains challenging. On Thursday, Limpopo Premier Chupu Mathabatha said the province had concluded that a phased-in return to school programme of Gr 7 and 12 learners would not materialise on 4 May (the earlier expected date of reopening).

On Friday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that schools would re-open for teachers on 18 May, and on 1 June for Gr 7 and 12 learners.

Last week, the premier spoke during a Corona Virus Awareness and Compliance Campaign held in Malamulele, where the Provincial Command Council meeting was also held in the Collins Chabane Municipality. Given the large volumes of PPE that might not readily be available, the province may not be ready to reopen schools, the premier said.

“There are currently around 83 000 Grade 12’s, around 131 000 Gr 7 learners in the province. All these, including the 13 000 Gr 12 teachers and 19 000 Gr 7 teachers, may not be adequately protected against contracting the virus, and therefore might open the province to a disaster.”

Limpopo is also a water-scarce province, with thousands of households and villages with no direct access to water. This too will prove challenging in terms of the hygiene requirements and regulations announced for when schools reopen. During the ministerial briefing, Motshekga said the guiding principle in terms of how learners were to return to school, was to lower the infection rate, and ensuring the safety of learners, teachers and employees. Measures were put in place, through the help of technology, to prevent the total loss of the academic school year, she said.

It was decided that the phased introduction of learners may only take place after various measures were put in place, among others awareness campaigns to educate parents, particularly in rural areas.

All schools, circuits, districts and provinces have to have a practical and comprehensive catch-up plan, taking into account the risk profiles of the areas where schools are located based on the infection rate in geographical areas.

Other aspects to be taken into consideration include transport measures, sanitising of classes daily prior to the start of the school day, provision and wearing of cloth masks, social distancing (no more than two learners sharing a desk), water supplies to be in order at schools, water tanks to be installed, a basic hygiene package to be procured by provinces, and then screening and testing of learners and teachers at the reopening of schools.

Asked yesterday if these measures would be in place when Limpopo schools open for Gr 7 and 12 learners on 1 June, the premier’s Spokesperson, Kenny Mathivha said Provincial Government was doing all it could:

“It is a possibility. We are working on it.” The premier furthermore emphasised the importance of local spending. “All PPE procurement should by all means be procured from local SMMEs,” he said, adding it would assist local businesses that have been hit hard financially in the last month.

In the meantime, the five major teacher unions including the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) and the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU) in a joint statement requested that the minister provide a summary of her presentation at the ministerial briefing to circuit, district and head offices.

According to Naptosa President, Basil Manuel said an urgent meeting with Motshekga was necessary to clear up many unanswered questions. Some uncertainty seems to remain, among others, around teachers who are older than 60 years of age, and those with co-morbidities.

The unions also feel that it is not the responsibility of school management teams, who should report for work on 11 May, to supervise infrastructure or have schools ready in terms of several precautionary requirements such as deep-cleansing.

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