The Department of Basic Education has put forward its plans to parliament to get learners back into education on May 6th, 2020.
Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, Director-General of the Department of Basic Education has said if everything goes according to plan then the best current scenario we will see teachers back on the 4th May and learners on the 6th May 2020.
However, all learners will not return on the same date – There will be a phased approach to get different grades back to school.
- Grade 12 and 7 – May 6th
- Grade 11 and 6 – May 20th
- Grade 10 and 5 – 3rd June
- Grade 9 and 4- 17th June
- Grade 8 and 3- 1st July
- Grade 2 and 1 – 8th July
- Grade R – 15th July
Note: The above dates are simply a proposal, these could be subject to changes and will be addressed on Thursday 30 April at 10:00 during a media briefing.
“People need to remember that we lost a lot of time. The winter vacation is the longest one with three to four weeks. We’re going to shorten it to make up for the lost days. The winter vacation will be shortened by one week and the September vacation by one day. “
Mweli says that face masks will be mandatory while in school.
Students and teachers will also be subjected to screening tests daily.
“It will start with Grade 7 and Grade 12. Pupils or staff members whose temperatures are high will also be considered for isolation or quarantine.”
Mweli has also reassured citizens by saying that classrooms will be disinfected at the start of the day and hand sanitizer will be used when entering the classroom. Any plans to move learners around to different classes will be prohibited, it will be required to limit them to one class. Learners’ desks will be separated to ensure social distancing.
“In our plan, there are plans for social distancing in classrooms, with no more than two pupils per desk. There should also be no embrace, shaking hands or direct contact,”
