The National Alliance of Independent School Associations (NAISA) has joined a number of organisations in calling for a delay in the reopening of schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Coronavirus Command Council, the South African 1st Forum and teachers’ union, NAPTOSA, have called for the reopening of schools to be delayed, to better prepare teachers and learners for the 2021 academic year.
NAISA’s Secretary-General is Ebrahim Ansur says the NCCC recommends that the reopening of schools should be delayed.
“I would say 90%of our members have not reopened. The NCCC has recommended that schools should delay their reopening until the 15th of Feb. We support that although it has implications for the independent schools sector. I think one has to balance the needs of the health requirements of our country and the safety of our children and teachers and parents and try to create some kind of balance between the two. We need to flatten the curve and try to save as many lives as we possibly can.”
NAPTOSA supports calls to delay reopening of schools: Basil Manuel
Cosas calls for delay in schools re-opening
The Congress of South African Students (Cosas) claims that there’s consensus among basic education stakeholders that public schools should only re-open next month because of the rapid rise in coronavirus infections, especially among young people.
Teachers’ unions have also expressed reservations about opening schools on January 27.
Cosas spokesperson, Douglas Ngobeni, says they’ve reached an agreement with the Basic Education Department to delay the start of classes by two weeks.
“We have agreed with the Department of Basic Education that there would be a two week delay of the reopening of schools necessary with the provisions of the second wave of COVID-19. Our teachers are dying because of this virus. We don’t [want to] find ourselves in a situation where our learners follow suit,” explains Ngobeni.
The video below is on a muted the opening for some independent schools amid COVID-19:
