NYAKALLO TEFU

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga says some of the school work for some grades will be carried over to 2021 following disruptions brought about by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

 Motshekga said it could take three years for schools to recover from work missed in the 2020 academic year.

“In 2021, when the Grade 3 learners start we will start with Grade 2 work which we had removed from the curriculum,” said Motshekga.

She said this year’s curriculum will only see 70% of the syllabus completed by December.

“The catch-up programme might run for about three years; we don’t think we will finish the work of 2020/2021 in 2021, this is why I say it’s going to be a three-year programme to see if we can clock back what we have lost,” said Motshekga.

Motshekga said Grade 7 learners are expected to return next week Monday and the rest of the grades will be phased in from 24 August.

She said government cannot cancel the academic year because it will put pressure on the one million Grade R learners who will be registered into the 2021 academic system.

However, she added, Grade 12 learners are expected to complete the syllabus in order to make space for other learners to be entered into the education system in 2021.

“We need Grade 12s to move to allow space for the grade 1s, just to get the system to breathe,” said Motshekga. 

(COMPILED BY INSIDE EDUCATION STAFF)

SANDILE MOTHA

THE Congress of South African Students has vowed to make private schools ungovernable should they remain open in the coming weeks.

The student body said on Tuesday it was a travesty of justice that while pupils in public schools are languishing at home, the ‘rich kids’ remain unaffected.

“What we are seeing here is inequality at it best. We cannot allow a situation where the majority black and poor learners are the only ones who have to suffer. This is not their own making. Learners must be treated the same regardless of which school they attend public or private,” said Jabulisa Mchunu, COSAS provincial chairperson speaking to Inside Education.

Mchunu said COSAS has lobbied other student formations such as the South African Students Congress to also join in the fight to shut down private schools.

“We are lobbying Sasco because they are our allies and together we form part of the progress youth alliance under the ANC banner. But we invite other student groups as well to assist us in pushing this campaign as we aim to picket in every private school that remains open. Besides, the lives of pupils in private schools also matters, so this attempt is also meant to protect them as well,” explained Mchunu.

Following public pressure and fears that the COVID-19 wave might spiral out of control amid the flu season, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced closure of schools, except for Grade 12.

All other grades are expected to be phased in from August 24.

Grade 5 pupils are also expected back at school next week.

The unprecedented closure only affected public schools while private institutions would make their own determination whether to remain open or closed.

These schools are, however, divided on the matter with some remaining open while others have opted for remote learning instead.

Responding to the threats by COSAS, Mandla Mthembu, chairperson of the National Alliance of Independent Schools Association (NAISA) said parents of pupils in private institutions were paying too much to allow it to go to waste.

“Parents pay a lot of money so that their kids can access quality education. They must get value for their money and we hope that police will acts swiftly and arrest anybody who disturbs teaching and learning,” said Mthembu.

Meanwhile, there were no major incidents reported in KZN as matric pupils returned after a short break.

Nolwazo Chiya, a governing body member at Menzi High School, said it was agreed that pupils would commence classes at 7am as an attempt to catch up on lost time.

Menzi High School is one of the best performing schools in the province boasting a consecutive 100% matric pass rate.  

“We do not want our pass rate to dwindle so we’re now resorting to this measure,” she told Inside Education.

According to the new revised academic calendar, schools will close on December 15 for grade R to 11.

Unlike the previous years, matric results will now be released next year on February 23.

(COMPILED BY INSIDE EDUCATION STAFF)

Only 68 out of 4 000 pit latrines at public schools in South Africa have been fixed, according to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

Motshekga revealed this in response to a written parliamentary question from Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Ngwanamakwetle Mashabela who wanted details pertaining to school infrastructure and personal protective equipment amid rising coronavirus infections at certain schools.

“It is true that several schools have challenges related to water supply and sanitation. The Department of Basic Education is working with the various provincial departments of education, Rand Water and the water boards to address such challenges,” said Motshekga.

Motshekga reiterated the department’s commitment to eradicate pit latrines by 2022.

“It is also correct that the provincial departments of education identified more than 3 800 schools that rely on basic pit toilets. Again, the Department of Basic Education is working with the various provincial departments of education to address such challenges. Sanitation solutions have been implemented at 68 of these schools under the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) programme.”

The ASIDI programme aims to eradicate the basic safety norms backlog in schools without water, sanitation and electricity.

“The provincial departments of education have addressed the needs at a further 834 schools. Several partnerships contributed to solve the challenge at another 103 schools. The Department of Basic Education appointed four different implementing agents to address a further 1 121 schools. These implementing agents are in varying stages of completion of the sanitation solutions. The current plan is to eradicate the basic pit toilets by March 2022. This is, however, dependent on the availability of funding for this purpose,” Motshekga said.

Two years ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative in an attempt to rid schools of pit latrines.

This followed the deaths of Lumka Mkhethwa, 5, and Michael Komape, 5, who drowned in pit latrines in separate incidents in Eastern Cape and Limpopo, respectively.

“There are nearly 4,000 schools across the country that only have pit latrines or other inappropriate sanitation facilities. These are the schools that serve the children of the poor. It was in such a school, Mahlodumela Primary School in Limpopo, where five-year old Michael Komape drowned in a pit toilet in 2014. And it was in such a school, Luna Junior Primary School in the Eastern Cape, where Lumka Mkethwa lost her life in March this year,” said Ramaphosa.

“The utterly tragic and devastating deaths of children so young and so innocent remind us of the human consequences of service delivery delayed. They remind us that we must focus all our attention not on what we have achieved, but on what we haven’t. We have heard the cries of anguished families, we have felt the outrage of a society that cannot bear to witness to another needless death. It is our responsibility – as government, business, civil society, parents, teachers and communities – to act with purpose, urgency and unity. Through the SAFE initiative, we can all help to restore the dignity of learners in mostly rural and township schools by providing age-appropriate sanitation facilities.”

Equal Education, a body advocating for learner rights, says issues of safety in schools have been a concern for a while.

Equal Education Law Centre said on Monday that the NGO was disappointed that the education department has failed to meet another deadline to address the sanitation crisis by 2020.

“What is clear is that the eradication process is taking way too long. The fact that she is saying the eradication of pit latrines will be completed by 2022 is not acceptable when that deadline in terms of the minimum norms and standards passed years ago,” said Tarryn Cooper-Bell, spokesperson for Equal Education Law Centre in Cape Town, Western Cape.

“We are concerned about this number – 4 000. That is a massive number of children whose lives are in danger and it is disappointing to see how slow the process is going.”

Out of almost 25,000 nationwide, the 4 000 schools with pit latrines are found mainly in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces.

Eastern Cape has 61 schools with no toilets at all, and 1,585 schools with pit latrines while neighbouring KwaZulu-Natal province has 1,379 pit latrines in use. 

Limpopo Province, where Michael Komape went to school, has at least 932 unsafe toilets.

(REPORTING BY INSIDE EDUCATION STAFF)

NYAKALLO TEFU

THE Department of Basic Education has released a revised calendar for 2020, saying the school year will be completed on December 15 for Grade R to Grade 11 and will not be carried over to the first quarter of 2021.

This is the second time this year that the school calendar has been revised to accommodate the changes that have been brought by the impact of the Coronavirus.

In a statement issued on Saturday night, DBE said the school year will also see learners returning to school on August 24 following last month’s announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The department considered the impact of the decision on the current calendar. The policy process to amend the school calendar commenced considering the urgency of the matter as necessitated by the prevalent Covid-19 environment,” said the department.

The review of the school calendar comes after a Cabinet decision that schools should break for four weeks.

In his address to the nation last month, Ramaphosa announced that schools will close on 27 July and re-open on 24 August.

 The calendar will be gazetted and published this week.

“The Minister will issue directions for the basic education sector this coming week. The directions will provide guidance on various matters affecting the basic education sector,” the department said.

While this was welcomed by many, others felt that the president and basic education minister Angie Motshekga were bowing to pressure by trade unions, which had written to DBE to shut down schools during the COVID-19 peak.

On Monday, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) criticised the publishing of a new 2020 school calendar in the absence of gazetted dates, saying it had caused chaos and confusion for matric pupils.

Educational MEC Debbie Schäfer said the publishing of a new calendar while failing to gazette directions had caused more chaos in the system, with people now unsure whether matrics had to return today.

“According to the current gazetted directions schools can bring more grades back if they can comply with the protocols, so they are complying with the law,” said Schäfer.

The matriculants will finish writing their year-end examinations by December 15, and marking will be completed by 22 January 2021.

Matric results for the Class of 2020 will be released on February 2021.

The department said the reopening of schools in 2021 would take place on January 25 for teachers, and learners will return at a later date yet to be announced. 

(COMPILED BY INSIDE EDUCATION STAFF)

NYAKALLO TEFU

A GRADE 11 learner at Tuks Sport High in Pretoria has accused the school of failing to close or call off lessons despite a number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases reported among teachers and learners.

The learner, Jaycobus Farmer from George in the Western Cape, says he was targeted after he and fellow learners raised issues about safety measures and protocols at the school.

Farmer said there are three teachers over the age of 60 at Tuks Sport High School who were still coming to school to teach learners despite government regulations.

The school headmaster, Hettie De Villiers, has denied this.

“The School complies with all the applicable Regulations. The Regulations do not prohibit people of the age of 60 from coming to work. It is that individual’s own choice to come to work or work from home,” said De Villiers.

“Although employees over the age of 60 are not encouraged to come to work, all employees over the age of 60, who underwent a thorough medical assessment and who were in good health, were allowed to come to work, subject to regular follow-up assessments by their Doctors.”

De Villiers has denied allegations of racism against Tuks Sport High School.

“This allegation is denied with contempt.  This is a blatantly false statement.  The School is proud to have more than 88% black and coloured learners,” she said.

Farmer was expelled a week ago after he was found guilty of disrespect and not adhering to the authority structures within Tuks Sport High School – intimidating or degrading a fellow learner in any way, including gestures, verbal threat or comments on a social media platform.

This is based on evidence that was produced, according to the school’s charge sheet.

Farmer has also been found guilty of bullying and engaging in any form of bullying, physical, emotional or cyber-bullying.

However, Farmer remains a registered learner of Tuks Sport High School until the end of the academic year and will be supported as per lockdown learning conditions.

He will be allowed to write his final Grade 11 exams at school, but will not be accommodated in the residence during the exam period.

“The school had promised that they would wash our masks every second day but they have never washed our masks,” said Farmer.

“They said they are in healthy condition but that is not the point. They are putting us at risk,” said Farmer.

Farmer alleged school teachers at Tuks Sport High have also been discriminating against the black and Coloured learners.

“We feel excluded. In the one incident recently the principal [Hettie de Villiers] called us in, saying we were moving in the Numbers Gang. We asked what she meant, and she clarified that we were walking in groups and when we asked her about other learners, she said there was a difference between us and them,” said Farmer. 

“I feel like the school does not care about our safety and I do not feel entirely safe at school, especially during the coronavirus pandemic peak, among other greater issues,” said Farmer.

“There have been certain cases that we were not made aware of, of people having contracted the virus, because they only closed the school after 12 cases of the coronavirus where reported.”

Farmer said the first six cases of the virus did not prompt the school to close.

He said all they did was isolate the learners and only notified parents when 12 cases were reported.

(COMPILED BY INSIDE EDUCATION STAFF)

PARENTS at Mukula High School are accusing parents of stealing food belonging to learners, according to a report by the SABC News.

The Limpopo Education Department has deployed a team to the Mukula High School, in Xikhumba village, outside Giyani to investigate allegations of the theft of food items meant for the school nutrition programme.

This follows allegations by some parents that bakkies, which they suspect acted on the behest of some teachers, went to the school and took food items, hours after they had been delivered at school.

Parents of Grade 12 learners were on Wednesday asked to collect food for their children at the school. Some, however, say they got small amounts of food items that will not last the learners for the duration of the week, as directed by President Cyril Ramaphosa that schools should continue feeding learners during this COVID-19 imposed break.

Some parents allege that they saw bakkies leaving and entering the school premises several times last Friday night, a few hours after a truck delivered food items at the school.

“On Friday, I saw a big truck at the Mukula. It was delivering food. It was a bulk of food. So, I don’t know what is happening because they said we must come with wheelbarrows so that we must collect the food, only to find that we got only a few things. But the truck was there and the food was plenty.”

Provincial government investigating allegations

The Limpopo Education Department says a team led by the circuit manager will be investigating these allegations.

“We have asked the district director to look into the matter. First of all, it is worrying to receive reports of possible theft of food since we all know that this is much-needed provision. We also have circuit monitors of the school nutrition programme to check what was delivered and what was given to learners and parents; also tighten up systems around stocktaking to make sure that it tallies with what the SGB and other members of the community are confirming to have received,” says Spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene.

Although parents at Mukula told SABC News that only Grade 12 and 11 learners at the school have thus far been given food items, Chuene says all schools in the province that benefit from the school nutrition programme have been feeding learners for the duration of this week.