The Democratic Alliance (DA) says inequality will increase in South Africa, as poor families cannot afford to home school their children.
The party has confirmed that it will take legal action against government for its decision to close schools.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that public schools would close from Monday to the 24 of August as the coronavirus infections escalate in the country.
In the video below, President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation:
The DA says the closure of schools will result in many children dropping out, while many more will fall so far behind that they will not be able to catch up.
DA interim leader, John Steenhuisen, says the decision to close schools is not in the best interest of learners.
“President Ramaphosa is behaving like a spectator, taking instructions from whichever powerful interest group threatens him more. In this instance, it is teacher unions that have come first and not children that can’t vote who are coming last. This decision is not supported by the best available evidence, it is not supported by education experts, and it is not supported by the virus data. The scientific evidence is that schools do not expose learners and staff to higher levels of risk than any other places.”
Closing schools increases the risk of children – especially those from poorer families – being left home alone while parents are forced to return to work to sustain the family. As education is compromised, so poverty will go up, and let us be under no illusion: poverty kills.
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) July 24, 2020
We strongly oppose the decision to close public schools for 4 weeks. We’re approaching the courts on the basis that it is politically rather than scientifically motivated & not in the best interests of SA’s 14 million schoolchildren. #KeepSchoolsOpen https://t.co/PF4BfaKoyH
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) July 24, 2020
In the video below, Equal Education reacts to closure of public schools: