BusinessLive reports that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced on Sunday that about 95% of schools throughout the country were ready to receive grade 7 and 12 pupils from Monday.
This was after a “mop-up” week in which an all-out effort was made to get schools ready to receive pupils. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was obtained, water and sanitation facilities were provided, and schools were sanitised. Teachers and support staff were also inducted into the new way of operating under Covid-19. Motshekga said these efforts had “drastically” improved the situation and there were no longer high-risk provinces. She indicated at a media briefing that alternative arrangements would be made for the pupils of the 5% of schools that were not ready as they would not be allowed to open. The five teacher trade unions and the school governing body associations said in a statement on Sunday that they “tentatively” supported the re-opening of schools on Monday, but on the condition that no school could open that was not Covid-19 compliant. The unions and associations stressed there had be an integrated plan to get schools that were not Covid-19 compliant ready in the shortest time. They also called for immediate consultations on a new school calendar and a plan for the sustained supply of Covid-19 consumables.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive
- Read too, No more delays as schools set to reopen, at Sunday Times
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page