Cape Town - The Bishop Lavis Action Community (Blac) has called for a national stayaway from schools until all public school infrastructures are fixed.
It also wants pupils in grades 1 to 11 be promoted with an adjusted curriculum, to accommodate for time lost, as well as a special curriculum for Grade 12s allowing them to finish the year.
Amanda Davids, of Blac, said children worldwide had contracted Covid-19 and died.
“To date, there is no cure or vaccine for this deadly virus. This means if our children contract this disease, they might face a lonely and painful death.
"The callous response of the provincial and national governments to force our children by law to go to school in such potentially deadly conditions, is like sending sheep to the slaughterhouse to be butchered," she said.
“The Western Cape Education Department shockingly applied for the regulated social distancing not to be implemented in classrooms to accommodate for their usual overcrowding. Even more alarming is our teachers who are expected to work as specialist health-care workers, as if teaching a content-heavy curriculum is not enough."
Nomvuselelo Mgali said she won't send her children back to school.
“When schools were closed in March there were less than 1000 cases and just when the cases peak over
20000, they want to reopen. This does not make sense.
"These school kids will be the ones infecting us with the virus while we think we are strictly following the regulations by staying inside," she said.
@Mtuzeli