Cape Town – The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will go ahead with phasing in Grade R pupils along with other grades today despite calls to delay their return.
Last week, Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga revised the decision to allow almost six million pupils back to class, saying only grades R, 6 and 11 must return.
Elaborating further yesterday on schools’ readiness for more grades, Motshekga said provinces that were ready to receive Grade R learners could proceed and those not ready for them could delay their return.
“The Council of Education Ministers noted that provinces may be at different levels of readiness for the return of Grade R learners.
“Those provinces that are not ready to receive Grade R must provide strategic and realisable plans for ensuring the reincorporation of the pupils to schools within, but not later than the end of, July 2020,” she said.
Since the return of grades 7 and 12 pupils on June 8, 2740 teachers have contracted Covid-19, with 1260 pupils infected. The Western Cape, followed by the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, recorded the highest number of infections.
“We unfortunately lost the lives of 11 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff in the Eastern Cape to the virus. Also, three pupils died due to Covid-19. We convey our deepest condolences to the affected families.”
The Progressive Organisations Forum, which includes civil society organisations, teacher and worker
unions against the returning of other
grades to schools, has threatened to
report non-compliance by the WCED
to the Department of Employment
and Labour and the SA Human
Rights Commission should they
receive reports of this.
“The DBE’s decision to allow
the phasing in of the other grades
now further compromises social
distancing, constant sanitising, and
staffing challenges as there would be
a need to reduce the class size and
accommodation would not allow for
this,” the organisation said.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer
said: “I have noted the statement
issued by the ANC and aligned
organisations referring to the return
to school of more grades. While they
are entitled to their views, they have
no right to ‘demand’ that others
share that view…”