Public schooling, which has already been delayed because of the resurging Covid-19 pandemic, is set to resume at the end of January, the department of basic education said on Monday.
Teachers will return to school on January 25, while pupils will follow on January 27.
The Covid-19 pandemic has turned SA’s school calendar on its head as restrictions were imposed under a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. The pandemic also had far-reaching implications for the way schools operated, as teaching had to be done on a rotational basis. Schools were limited to operate at 50% capacity when pupils were eventually allowed to go back to physical classes.
Elijah Mhlanga, spokesperson for the department, said on Monday that schools were ready to open on the planned dates. “In terms of our state of readiness, we are saying we are ready to open. We will learn from the lessons from last year,” he said.
The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and SA Teachers’ Union (SAOU) said issues that had to be sorted out included ensuring there was enough personal protective equipment (PPE) available, while calls have also been made for teachers to be vaccinated early and treated as front-line workers.
SAOU’s Chris Klopper said new masks would have to be made available for new grade 8 and grade 1 pupils, while sanitiser should also be addressed as stock was depleted.
Mhlanga said the delay in opening schools had ensured that there has been more time for the department to prepare. Schools still had some stock left from last year, but he said the department would top up supplies in those areas that were running low.
Klopper said another issue was teachers with comorbidities. Schools closed last year while the country’s lockdown was on alert level 1, which is the least restrictive level. The country is, however, on alert level 3, in which teachers with comorbidities were allowed to not go to school.
SAOU’s plea was that there had to be a new way to look at the functioning of schools during the pandemic, as children could not again lose the amount of school time they lost in 2020.
Mugwena Maluleke, general secretary of Sadtu, said that it was paramount that schools had to open safely and that it must be guided by science. He said Covid-19 cases in SA had to be on a downward trend to ensure that schools open safely.
Infections have spiked over the past couple of weeks as SA is in the midst of a second wave.
Besides the need for enough PPE and sanitiser, Maluleke said there should be an economic stimulus package for all provinces, while there also had to be proper tracking and tracing. Infrastructure in schools should also be focused on.
Paul Colditz, of the Federation of Governing Bodies of SA Schools, said the schools it represented were ready to open.
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