A concerned group of parents from Phoenix, north of Durban, says they will not send their children to school during the coronavirus pandemic.
Interim Chairperson of the newly-formed “Concerned Parents Forum”, Doctor Selvan Naicker says parents from 44 schools in Phoenix and surrounding areas are concerned about their children attending school, especially during the winter months.
He says other options around learning remotely are being considered.
“We are engaging with the schools to give us cost backs. We are engaging the schools that can afford it to go remote learning. We will find alternative methods of making sure our children are not left behind. The department’s objective is no child must be left behind. The parents of the forum have taken the decision not to send children to school. But we cannot stop any parent from sending their children to school,” Dr Naicker.
South Africa’s schools reopened on 8 June with Grades 7 and 12 learners as the first group to return.
In the video below, learners return to schools after weeks being home:
There has been some resistance to the government’s decision to reopen schools. The High Court, two weeks ago, ruled against Educators Union of South Africa’s (EUSA) bid challenging the decision to reopen schools.
KwaZulu-Natal currently has 5 030 coronavirus cases with 84 deaths.
