Cape Town - Teacher unions and activists have expressed concern on the new directions by the Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to allow all primary school learners to start attending school daily from July.
Educators Union of SA provincial chairperson André de Bruyn said in just two weeks after the Department of Basic Education (DBE) announced the immediate suspension of all contact sport, they gazetted that all primary school learners should return to full capacity.
De Bruyn said the union finds it ironic and also cleverly played by the DBE to publish on a Friday after schools close.
"Full classes means more contact. Does that not defeat the purpose of social distancing? In reality it is extremely difficult to make learners follow protocols throughout the day," he said.
"Is the DBE effectively tracing and tracking learners across the spectrum? No they are not. They are not even doing basic laboratory testing. But from virtual meetings they feel it is good enough to play with the lives of teachers and support staff," said De Bruyn.
DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the directions were an outcome of research and extensive consultation with stakeholders in the basic education sector.
SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said the union would use the June school holiday to assess the situation and the readiness of the the DBE in terms of all the standard operating procedures and the personal protective equipment (PPE), including what the science would be telling them.
Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said they supported the move to 100% attendance for primary school learners, as well as the DBE’s adoption of the risk-adjusted strategy.
Schäfer said that it made sense as not all areas were affected equally at the same time, and it was important to preserve teaching and learning time as much as possible.
"The recent National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) report outlined significant learning losses – the consequences of such losses will be felt for many years to come," said Schäfer.
Vanessa Le Roux, founder for a group called Parents for Equal Education SA (Peesa), said they were in a process of writing to the ministers of Education, Health, Social Development, all nine MECs and department heads requesting information to whom they have to consult with the new directions.
"As we see the spike in infections across the country, the number of children that are infected, and the number of schools that have to close, we can't just sit by and witness our children being exposed to these types of dangerous situations," said Le Roux.
Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (Isasa) executive director Lebogang Montjane said they distributed a memorandum to their members regarding the new directions over the weekend.
However, he said they did not brief them on the point of returning primary school learners to school and the return to normal scheduling, because they have all been fully back at school since the beginning of the year.
Montjane said those aspects of the directions were inapplicable to their members.
Progressive Principals' Association spokesperson Anthea Adriaanse said it must firstly be understood that the majority of teachers would prefer the traditional model, as the rotational model places them under extreme pressure causing fatigue as well as burnout.
Adriaanse said teachers were concerned about the crisis in education and the effect it was having, especially on learners in marginalised communities.
"DBE has missed an ideal opportunity to invest in IT infrastructure in disadvantaged communities for these learners to access learning in the event of another lockdown," said Adriaanse.