Grade 12 and 11 learners voiced their frustrations at going back to school amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The learners gathered at the Ikageng Stadium on Monday, 6 July to plead with the Department of Education to take their safety concerns seriously.
Kagiso Lerefolo, the regional coordinator of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas), explained that the protest was initially planned to make its way to the Department of Education. Due to circumstances, however, it ended at the Ikageng Stadium. An official from the Department of Education, the district deputy director, Mpiliso Tyatya, availed himself to accept the memorandum.
Lebogang Mooki, a Grade 12 learner from Tlokwe Secondary School and chairperson of Cosas Tlokwe branch, along with Koketso Molefe from B.A. Seobi are some of the learners who voiced the concerns of their fellow pupils. Among them were the absence of nurses on the school premises and the lack of personal protection equipment (PPE). Lebogang also requested the respective officials to monitor the safety of the school premises regularly.
Philisiwe Pitseng, a Grade 12 learner from Seiphemelo Secondary School, read the memorandum before handing it over.
The document highlights the following issues:
The anxieties, fears and pressures that learners feel when going to school. The fear of being infected or of it spreading. The pressure of the workload they have to complete in a limited time. The need and demand for more resources, similar to what tertiary students receive, like data, to help them complete the curriculum.
Lastly, they allege that some of the assigned nurses had not yet arrived at the schools.
The learners also requested a response from the Department of Education within seven days.
Tyatya says the department is committed to ensuring that all learners receive an education with no interference, despite the unprecedented measures in controlling the pandemic.
He appealed to meet with the organisers of the protest to discuss the memorandum in detail and respond and assist accordingly.
He reassured the learners that they would provide an answer within seven days. He said the department was working hard to ensure that all schools comply with the protocols and regulations for schools to operate successfully. They include having enough resources like sanitisers, masks, screeners, and many more.
He empathised with the learners and their feelings of anxiety and fear. “I’m also anxious. Everyone is anxious; learners and parents are anxious. “We have no experience on how to deal with the pandemic, so, we deal with it as we go along.”
Tyatya says only 15 learners of the 150,000 within the district on 3 July and 31 educators had been infected. There had been several recoveries, however.
He thanked all the respective stakeholders who had attended and participated in the protest, especially the learners.
