After almost ten weeks, schools are set to reopen on 8 June. They were forced to close on 18 March, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.
The learners’ return will be phased in, starting with grades seven and 12. Anxiousness, panic and uncertainty are some of the emotions parents have been experiencing lately. Many don’t know whether or not it is safe for their children to go back to school.
The government has permitted parents to home-school their children if they would prefer to do so, however.
Dikeledi Mache is a parent of three children, the youngest of whom is in Gr. 1. Another is in Gr. 5 and the eldest, in Gr. 11. She says she wouldn’t mind her children going back to school, but only if it was completely safe for them to do so. However, with the rate at which the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is rising, she thinks it is not a good idea to reopen the schools now. “The cases have been increasing daily, while the schools are still closed. We don’t know what’s going to happen once they go back,” she said. Since it is winter, she is also concerned that this may have an impact on the children’s health. She pleads with the government to put extra effort into protecting the children, providing things like PPEs and jerseys, making sure they’re warm, especially the little ones. She says the government is doing the best they can and encourages parents to make a decision that they believe is best for their children.
She also believes the safety and health of the teachers should be considered at this time, as they spend approximately eight hours a day with the learners.
Overall, she believes health and life are more important.
Tracy Ross is a parent of a matriculant. She says she is anxious about the schools reopening for various reasons. One of her concerns is the workload to complete their curriculum. “Is it going to be manageable for the children, on top of the matric stress? They also have to deal with the anxiety of whether the person sitting next to them is Covid-19 positive. ‘Am I going to bring this thing home and infect my mom and dad?’” said Tracy.
She says she’s in between but has considered home-schooling her son.
Tracy is a nursery school teacher and provides aftercare services for grades one and two from Potchefstroom Central School. She believes it would be too early to send the little ones to school. “They do not understand social distancing, not with teachers or with friends. They love to hug, hold and kiss.
“They are spontaneous and like to show their love,” she said. She advises all to be brave and safe as it may take a while before a vaccine is found.
In Monday’s briefing, the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, said schools would be using this week to complete the preparations for the return of learners. Elias Malindi, the NW Department of Education spokesperson, confirms that staff members have been preparing for the reopening of schools. “Schools are currently mopping up; that means the department is identifying the gaps and closing them this week. The school management is conducting orientation of the learners so that, next week, they can start with effective teaching and learning,” said Malindi.
Malindi says redesigning time tables, distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to the learners and cleaning the schools are some of the things that have to be finalised.
