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Some learners turned back at many schools outside Mbombela in Mpumalanga

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Learners have been turned back at many schools in KaNyamazane, outside Mbombela, in Mpumalanga. According to reports, the schools in the area have not been sanitised despite the provincial Education department’s claim that they are ready.

It is alleged that the Mgwenya Circuit issued a statement informing school principals that schools won’t open on Monday.

Aletha Khumalo, Chairperson of the School Governing Body at Masihambisane Primary, which is one of the affected schools – says they can’t gamble with the lives of the learners.

“I think they are failing cause there is no communication at all. Even the principal didn’t have knowledge whether someone is coming to fumigate the toilets. It’s better to be late than to be sorry because life is very important, so like today my principal said he’s going to the departmental officials,” says Khumalo.

Gauteng

Emfuleni Executive Mayor, Gift Moerane, has called on the Gauteng Education Department to close Ramosukula Secondary School, which is situated on a farm outside Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal. The school has no water and toilets are not working. Moerane says the municipality will provide JoJo tanks at the school as a temporary measure.

He says the school must drill a borehole as learners cannot attend classes without water. Moerane’s also visiting schools in the area to check their readiness for reopening for Grade 7 and 12 learners.

“We should at least ask learners to go home when we agree on how to put systems in place. It’s either maybe they take them to a school around here, I have realized they are not many while we fix whatever we can fix but all in all should be fixed this week. But being a farm school, I’m relatively satisfied with the measures they have taken. It is just the basic one bins, water which I think is critical,” says Moerane.

In this video, learners return to school at Soshanguve Secondary School

Eastern Cape

Many parents in the Eastern Cape have lambasted the Education department’s decision to relocate learners from schools that are not ready to reopen to those that are ready. Grades seven and 12 learners countrywide have returned to school after being away for many months due to the national lockdown.

Some parents in Nelson Mandela Bay have raised concerns about the department’s alternative plan, saying they are worried about their children’s safety.

Melinda Brown and Tanduxolo Doda are among the concerned parents. “So no we go to a school that has the proper PPEs and now they have to share it with us and we will be overcrowding. So how is it possible that there will be social distancing if a neighbouring school have to accommodate us as well,” says Brown.

“We will not relocate to another school because of the distance for our kids. And also that we are a hotspot area here, Motherwell is a hotspot for COVID-19 so we can’t go to a hotspot but you a hotspot yourself,” says Doda.

KwaZulu-Natal

At some schools in Umlazi and Pinetown, educators were on hand to ensure all learners entering school premises had masks on. Grade 12 learners in Menzi High School kicked off the first period on time.

But it was a different picture at Inselele Primary School, where parents prevented learners from going to their classes, accusing the principal of not involving the School Governing Body in cleaning the school last week.

Parents are calling for the provincial Department of Education to intervene. Several schools in the area also referred to an alleged department circular, barring educators from engaging with the media on how the reopening was progressing.

Northern Cape

Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, says the provincial government will do everything in its power to ensure the safety of learners at schools. He was speaking at Greenpoint High School in Kimberley, where Grade 12 learners started their first day of schooling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saul says despite some challenges the reopening of schools is proceeding smoothly.

“We’re sitting with a difficult challenge of opening 563 schools in the Northern Cape under extremely challenging circumstances in ensuring that in all the schools that will be opened, the environment is safe and we don’t have exposed children to possible COVID-19. This is one of the schools I came to and I think things are quite fine, three classes have been arranged for about 80 Grade 12s,” says Saul.

Limpopo

A parent of a learner at the Liivha Combined School in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, says they have not received any communication from school management. All teachers are in self-isolation after their colleague tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday last week.

Johny Khubana says he arrived at the school earlier today only to find it closed.

“I first came here on the 1st of June just to check, then I was told by the security officers here that they are in the darkness. They don’t know what is happening and today I’m here there is no communique and there is nothing that is being communicated to the parents about the reopening of the school but we were told that the school will be reopening today,” says Khubana.

In the video below, Tembisa High School Grade 7 and 12 learners are back in class: 

Western Cape

In Cape Town, the Western Cape Education Department says hard work and leadership from principals and teachers have been crucial in ensuring that schools in the province reopened last week. Head of the department, Brian Schreuder, says the delivery of Personal Protective Equipment to schools in phases also played a vital role.

“We decided to deliver materials to schools in three tranches, simply because of the magnitude and the volume of what had to be done. So we first of all delivered masks and cleaning materials to schools and the masks were for teachers that were followed by a tranch of masks for the learners that came back initially. We are now busy with masks for all the other learners and a second tranch of cleaning materials, liquid soap, disinfectants and bleach,” says Schreuder.

North West

The Onkgopotse Tiro Comprehensive School in Mahikeng, in the North West, has remained closed because it is not ready to welcome grades seven and 12.

Principal Edwin Kgonothi the hostels for the accommodation of learners are still under construction. He says he hopes preparations will be completed by the end of this week.

“Our learners have been staying four in a room; some have been six in a room. The department, therefore, devised plans that new mobile rooms be constructed at Onkgopotse Tiro, wherein this instance they will be two in a room. At the same time, we are just rushing against time because while the construction of the mobile rooms is taking place, electricity has not yet been put up, the mobile toilets are not already here. We are expecting that the septic tanks also are available. And therefore, it gives us a challenge that, in an event we are not able to meet those kinds of challenges, learners will not be able to open next week.”

Free State

Lessons have resumed in some Bloemfontein schools. Most of the learners especially grade seven learners were accompanied by their parents. At Morafe Primary School learners were all screened by teachers.

“I am happy we have done everything in our power to ensure the school environment is conducive for learning. As you can see the classes are ready. Children are happy to be back at school. We just hope that they behave well,” said a parent who welcomed the reopening of schools.

“I happy with the reopening of schools we have been here for three weeks helping teachers making sure we are cleaning the school they were dirty,” added another.

 

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