Independent Media reports that Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga has advised that private and public schools will close on Wednesday, with 19 July marked as the new return date for learners.
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country would move to level 4 of the risk-adjusted lockdown from Monday. Level 4 means the winter school holidays, which were scheduled in a week, will be brought forward to Wednesday, 30 June. The minister said teaching would end on Wednesday, teachers and management would wrap up on Thursday and Friday, and by Friday all schools would be closed. The only school-related activities that will be allowed are winter learning programmes organised by provinces for Grade 11 and 12 learners. Motshekga reported that vaccination of the education sector was on track to be completed by Wednesday next week. The department aims to vaccinate 582,000 education sector workers against Covid-19. So far, more than 200,000 people have been vaccinated, most of them in KwaZulu-Natal where more than 60,000 of its education sector workers have received the jab. Motshekga indicated that vaccinations would continue while schools were closed.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zintle Mahlati at Independent Media
- Read too, Public schools to reopen on 19 July, says Motshekga, at The Citizen
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