With the current spike in Covid-19 cases, there are growing calls to have schools closed until the infection rate goes down. The calls to have schools close come after Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, on Saturday, announced that schools will remain open despite the rising cases of Covid-19.
An educator who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Springfield Weekly Gazette that as much as parliamentarians hold Zoom meetings in fear of Covid-19, educators and principals are also scared. “We witnessed what we read in the book by George Orwell called the Animal Farm, which has a quote that says, ‘All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others’, in this instance some people’s lives are more important than others.” KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said the province continues to rank the fourth highest in terms of fatalities countrywide, following Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape. Motshekga said every school must have a Covid-19 committee, a Covid-19 file, and compliance officers. “Doing business under Covid-19 means that one needs to also strike a balance between saving lives and livelihoods,” she said.
“At all times, we follow the advice of public health experts, who are supporting us in the management of the impact of Covid-19. We believe that schools must remain open and in saying so we are not insensitive to the concerns raised about the rising infections.The position is that we continue to handle Covid cases according to the differentiated strategy, on a province-by-province, school-by- school basis. While there are disruptions in the sector, the majority of our schools remain fairly stable,” added Minister Motshekga. South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) media officer, Nomusa Cembi said they note the announcement by Minister Motshekga to keep schools open despite the looming third wave but as a union, they will closely monitor the increase of Covid-19 cases at schools and revert back to the minister. “As the minister said, the closure of schools will be decided on the cases as per schools or district and we note that announcement but if there is a dramatic increase, we will ask the minister to reconsider that decision,” said Cembi.
Deputy principal and educator at Lakehaven Secondary School, Miss R Premdev said the school has been taking safety precautions as directed by the Education Department. “When learners get to school, we check if they are wearing their masks correctly. They are sanitised and there is social distancing in classrooms. It is important for learners, especially matriculants, to be in school so that they do not miss out on their work. Matriculants need to be constantly involved with their school work so that they do not forget. Matriculants are currently busy with revision for the upcoming trial examinations. Our learners are up to date with the school syllabus,” she said. A parent of a Grade 11 learner, Neville Govender, said schools should be temporarily closed until the number of cases subsides. “Learners can always catch up on school work, they should rather study from home and be safe than be at school when the number of infections is rising. “The Department of Education is not being fairby letting our children go to school when there is a deadly world pandemic. Yes, teachers are getting vaccinated, but what about our children, they are still at risk because they use public transport to school. I say, close schools till the pandemic subsides,” said Govender.
