By OBAKENG MAJE
Many teachers across the North West are ‘disinclined to return to work’ amid COVID-19 pandemic. One of the teachers in Mahikeng who refused to be named for fear of reprisal said they cannot go back to school, while the country is experiencing an increase in coronavirus disease infections.
“The re-opening of schools is premature as that might put our lives in danger. I just wonder how we are going to manage level 4 of lockdown regulations while having learners all over the place. Bringing in Grade 12s and 7s only will not guarantee prevention from the spread of the virus.”
Another teacher from Taung shared the same sentiments.
“We have so many schools in the sub-district where we experience overcrowding and shortage of water. How will the department afford to deal with coronavirus disease, while it is difficult to address basic services?”
However, the North West MEC for Education, Wendy Matsemela said her department has an enormous plan to address all those challenges. Matsemela said they were supposed to re-open on Monday 11, but that did not materialize because of some challenges.
“We are still waiting for Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to arrive. Indeed, we all anticipated that we might be ready on 11 May 2020. However, by Thursday last week, a number of provinces highlighted that they were not ready. So, we informed our School Governing Bodies (SGBs) including our Senior Management Teams (SMTs).
“We are speaking about people who are less than seven at some stage and this number is favourable. If, we shall open today, we could have managed because we are dealing with a very sizeable number. The reason why we have not yet re-opened was that we have not received a consignment on the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) we have placed order upon,” she said.
Matsemela added they are expecting to receive those PPEs before the end of this week and that will allow some of senior management and teachers back at work. She said only Grade 12s and 7s learners will be allowed back at school.
“We are expecting that teachers and staff to come back on the 18 May 2020. And also, it cannot be the entire staff of the school. It means that only teachers who are supposed to teach those classes in line with the phase-in programme will be allowed.
“We have also agreed that all teachers who are between the age of 50 and 60 and having underlying conditions should not come back until the situation is eased. The department will also ensure that is in line with what the Department of Public Service has also prescribed,” said Matsemela.
She said her department will implement a non-negotiable approach and ensure that level 4 of lockdown regulations such as social distancing, PPEs, sanitizers, masks, and decontamination of offices and classrooms are applied.
“Our staff and learners will be screened and tested before resuming classes. The department will also ensure that our staff and management are orientated. We have collaborated with other stakeholders like mining companies in Bojanala where they committed to buy us PPEs.
“We have 38 000 Grade 12s and 68 000 Grade 7s across the province. The department will also take Grade 12s to camps to avoid moving in and out of their communities. Those learners will be screened and tested before being taken away to various camps,” said Matsemela.
She further said Grade 12s are expected to sit for a fully-fledged curriculum examination paper and they need to work hard to cover the syllabus.
The Guardian 