Cape Town - Vandalised schools and deeply concerned teachers are just some of the challenges that await hundreds of learners at Langa schools when schools reopen on June 1.
Langa Community Policing Forum, the Local Command Centre and Human Rights monitors inspected six of the 10 schools. Human rights monitor Anele Gqasana said of the six, they discovered that only two were ready for reopening.
“Most schools are not prepared; the concern is their health and safety. Most worrying is that teachers are not trained on how to handle Covid-19. They need more support in terms of volunteers to control the influx of pupils coming to the schools. But monitors will assist in putting in place measures,” Gqasana said.
This after the Human Rights Commissioner on Right to Education, André Gaum, accessed one of the schools in the area and was partially satisfied with its progress.
“As far as the school I visited in Langa, there were concerns. It appears that most things were in place but no PPE (personal protective equipment) was delivered for the learners.
“It’s not clear whether the school will be ready to receive the learners when schools open. However, measures were in place in respect of the teachers at least,” said Gaum.
He said five out of 27 teachers at the school were absent as some were not feeling well.
“This is also a concern if some teachers were not in a position to teach because of health reasons. It’s not clear how the programme will work in terms of temporary teachers.”
Gaum said the school was also concerned at what will happen when the rest of the learners return in due course, as they will not be able to apply social distancing.
Meanwhile, ward 50 councillor Angus McKenzie confirmed that 147 Grade 12 learners and 36 teachers, 678 Grade 7 learners and 167 teachers were set to return to school on Monday.
“All our schools are prepared. We have ensured that all schools have the necessary PPE and cleaning materials,” said McKenzie.