Unions have rejected the staggered re-opening of schools, claiming this move will mean that some schools will fall behind with the learning curriculum.
They believe most private schools would re-open, while most public schools will remain closed because of late provision of personal protective wear and other problems.
This after education minister Angie Motshekga greenlit schools, which have already put in place the required health and safety measures, to re-open from Monday.
She said other schools would soon follow as the provincial government wrap up personal protective wear gear to be delivered this week.
Several teacher unions rejected the education department’s approach.
They included the South African Democratic Teacher Union (Sadtu), National Professional Teachers of South Africa (Naptosa), Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU), Professional Educators Union (PEU) and the National Teacher’s Union (Natu).
“No school must be left behind, especially not because of incompetence and tardiness,” said Natu president Alan Tomson.
“Given the historical injustices of the past, it is obvious which schools will be left behind should a staggered approach to schools re-opening be followed. This we cannot allow, no matter the justification.”
He said a staggered re-opening will discriminate against many pupils from a poor background as they will be behind due to late Covid-19 school preparedness by the government.
Naptosa executive director Basil Manuel said many pupils from public schools will be faced with immense pressure after the missing a school term.
“The longer it takes to implement the health and safety measures, the more pressure this will place on pupils.”
Manuel said the new re-opening date was still not realistic and that learners might have to wait longer.
He also slammed the re-opening of most schools in Western Cape, saying it “undermined” the “unitary nature of our education system”.
“We are not only going to scrutinise, but also challenge their motive.”
Unions called for all schools, even those that might be ready to re-open, not to re-open.
Furthermore, his union called for prioritising training teachers on how to operate in the Covid-19 environment.
“With so many teachers not returning to schools last week, this essential training is seriously lacking.
“Parents, learners, teachers and education workers can be assured that we all wish schooling to resume as soon as possible – but not at the expense of their health and safety.”
At a media briefing on Monday, Motshekga said the re-opened schools had to be allowed to re-open so as not to “kill the momentum” set by the government.
She said school management teams, teachers, and non-teaching staff were still expected to return to work on Monday to prepare for learners’ return next week.
Motshekga said teachers would undergo orientation about Covid-19.
She said provinces should finalise the training of screeners and school nutrition food handlers before most schools re-open.
Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news.
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
