Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has outlined the new return plans for South African schools.<\/p>\n
On Friday (3 July) the Department of Basic Education (DBE) postponed<\/a> <\/strong>the return of a number of school grades, citing the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.<\/p>\n The department said that the decision was taken after the Council of Ministers (CEM) received a number of briefings from education stakeholders.<\/p>\n In a media briefing on Sunday afternoon, Motshekga said that schools are a direct microcosm of the society in which they are based, with a number of infections reported since the return of grade 7 and 12 students on 8 June.<\/p>\n She highlighted that 968 schools (around 4%) of schools had to close at some point due to coronavirus cases, while just over 2,400 teachers and 1,260 learners were reported as infected.<\/p>\n Around 2.5% of teachers have been given permission to work from home due to age and comorbidities which put them at added risk, Motshekga said.<\/p>\n “Almost all schools are going to have to adopt innovative timetables and spacing arrangements to accommodate the return of more learners,” she said.<\/p>\n “We are painfully aware that a lot of school days have been lost and for some grades even more (time) will be lost.”<\/p>\n Return dates<\/strong><\/p>\n Motshekga said that the return of grades would be staggered as follows:<\/p>\n A warning<\/strong><\/p>\n Schools are likely to face chaos on Monday (6 July) as children in grades R, 6 and 11 are expected to return to class, says professional teachers group, Naptosa.<\/p>\n The group said that schools are simply not ready to take on the next wave of learners and recommends that the entire process be delayed until August.<\/p>\n\n
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