Durban - Parents have expressed concern that pupils were already sitting at home by mid-November, almost a month before schools in the province are set to officially close.
Concerned parents, all of whom wanted to remain anonymous, said some schools were not allowing pupils to return after writing exams.
School will close on December 12 for pupils and on December 14 for teachers, reopening on January 7 for teachers and January 9 for pupils.
One parent asked what the teachers were doing if the pupils were already at home weeks before the schools had officially closed.
“Teachers are still being paid to do their jobs, so why should children stay at home? Exactly what are the teachers doing during this time?
“Some schools I know of shut down from November 9.
“Since certain pupils’ exams were done, they were told not to come to school,” said the parent.
She said she was under the impression that state schools had rules to abide by.
Unions defended teachers, saying it was not their fault that some pupils chose not to attend school after finishing the final exam.
Another parent from Verulam said most schools there were as good as closed, as pupils were told not to come to school after the exams.
“I had to send my son to his grandparents because I am at work all day. I would prefer him to be at school, but he told me that most pupils had stopped coming and that no work was being done,” he said.
However, a parent from Clermont said keeping children at home sooner helped them save on transport money.
“I pay R41 a day for my daughter to travel to school in Berea. I would rather keep her at home and save the money than send her to school when there are no classes,” she said.
The Educators’ Union of South Africa said teachers had finished the syllabus, were done with the exams and were now busy with paperwork.
Its president Scelo Isaac Bhengu said having pupils at school when the academic programme for the year was done was like babysitting.
Bhengu said most teachers would leave for matric marking centres next week and there would be insufficient teachers to supervise pupils.
“The exams are done and dusted. Teachers are now busy with marking and organising schedules to be submitted to circuit offices,” he said.
Bhengu said parents should ensure their children were occupied at home.
Bheki Shandu of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union said although the Education Department’s directive was that teachers should align work and activities so pupils come to school, they tended not to come.
Shandu said it was the parents’ responsibility to ensure their children were at school.
“It is the parents’ decision whether to send their children to school. Teachers will always have creative ways of occupying pupils with activities on top of the burden of marking.”
Matakanye Matakanya, chairperson of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, said the department should ensure pupils attended school, even when teachers left for matric marking centres. He suggested that these teachers be replaced by unemployed parents from the community to supervise the pupils at school.
“Parents are keeping children at home because their children are safer there than unsupervised at school,” said Matakanya.
Kwazi Mthethwa, the department spokesperson, said there was no circular that said pupils could stay at home after finishing exams. He said pupils were staying at home by choice.