Education ditches rotational system, gets ready for full return
Teacher union has urged schools to continue adhering to non-pharmaceutical measures while the one metre social distancing requirement has been removed.
Schools were set to return to full-time learning from next week, and ditch the rotational system which was adopted in March 2020.
This was announced by the Department of Education on Tuesday.
Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga said schools would return to normal time-tabling as from Monday, February 7.
“In the meantime, the sector would prepare for the full return of learners,” he said.
“The minister will gazette new directions in the coming days, to reflect the cabinet decision and to also provide guidance ahead of the resumption of traditional time-tabling.”
On Monday, the cabinet announced the approval of the resumption of full-time learning in all schools.
This included primary, secondary and special schools returning to daily attendance.
“The regulatory provision for social distancing of one metre for learners in schools has also been removed,” a statement by the cabinet on Monday read.
Cabinet also approved changes to the adjusted alert level 1 Covid-19 regulations.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manual welcomed the announcement.
“Unlike 2020 and 2021 we have a positive start to the 2022 school year. Naptosa has for a considerable time been agitating for the return to school of all learners on a daily basis and the discontinuation of rotational school attendance in order to arrest the further loss of teaching time.
“To accommodate the overcrowding pressures experienced by many schools, cabinet’s decision is accompanied by a total relaxation of the one metre social distancing requirement in schools.
“While this is an inevitable consequence of a full return to schooling, it does not mean that there should be a let up on maintaining the other essential elements of the non-pharmaceutical Covid prevention measures.
“The compulsory wearing of masks and the sanitation regimes need to still be strictly adhered to by staff and learners in schools.”
Since October 2020, basic education minister Angie Motshekga said in primary schools the rotational system was ineffective. In August 2021, primary school learners went back to full-time classes but social distancing remained an issue.
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@DBE_SA Welcomes the decision to return schools to normal time-tabling, more details later in the week. pic.twitter.com/GaZkR6pg7f
— Elijah Mhlanga (@ElijahMhlanga) February 1, 2022
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