Staff Reporter
Parents not comfortable with sending their children back to school when classes resume on June 1 will not be forced to do so, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced last week that schools – which have been closed since the start of the national lockdown in March – will be opening at the beginning of next month, starting with Grades 7 and 12.
The announcement was, however, met with mixed reactions with some parents and teacher unions saying it was too early to resume school as COVID-19, which forced the country to go into lockdown, was yet to reach its peak.
Others have argued there have not been adequate preparations to ensure the safety of both the teachers and learners.
However, parents will not be forced to send their children to school if they are not comfortable, according to the president.
“The school calendar will be revised, and the curriculum trimmed so that we can still recover the 2020 school year,” Ramaphosa said as he announced this Sunday evening that South Africa will now move to alert Level 3 which will allow more economic activity and see the removal of several restrictions put in place as part of the national lockdown.
“It is understandable that there is some concern about the re-opening of schools, and I must stress that no parent will be forced to send their child to school if they are worried about safety,” he said.
Parents in the Free State have been pressing provincial Education MEC Tate Makgoe to give them assurance it will be safe to send their children back to school in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging the world.
Makgoe has however appealed for patience, saying in a brief announcement on his Twitter account this weekend that he was still consulting and will make the position of the province known soon at a media briefing.
Institutions of higher learning are also expected to implement a phased approach to the resumption of learning at the beginning of next month.
The president said all public universities are expected to implement remote teaching and learning strategies to ensure that all students are given a fair opportunity to complete the 2020 academic year.
“With the start of alert Level 3, no more than a third of the student population will be allowed to return to campuses on condition that they can be safely accommodated,” Ramaphosa said.
“Institutions will open up further as the coronavirus alert level changes.”
