Department of Basic Education Plans to Cancel 3rd Term School Holidays, Parents React to The News
- The South African Teacher's Union has called on the Department of Basic Education's to cancel third term school holidays
- It is speculated that the Department is planning to cancel the October school holidays to make upfor lost time during the year due to the pandemic
- The five-day school holidays are meant to cover up for the five days school closed early for the winter holidays
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JOHANNESBURG - With the schooling programme heavily interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic this year, school children are not getting third term school holidays in October, according to Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU), a teachers' union.
A meeting with Basic Education officials and teachers' unions was held on Saturday and it was revealed that the schooling programme will forfeit the third term holidays, reports IOL.
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SAOU says the Department of Basic Education planned to cancel school holidays to help learners catch up with the time lost when schools had to close down five days earlier for winter holidays due to the pandemic.
Other teachers' unions are not on board with plans to cancel the October school holidays, which are meant to be from 4 to 8 October. Chris Klopper, SAOU CEO says the decision to cancel school holidays to compensate for the time lost does not make sense.
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Klopper told eNCA that school kids need holidays to rest and prepare for upcoming exams in the fourth term. He added that by cancelling the October holidays, schools will end up having a term with 120 days instead of the standard 50 days.
"If they scrap [the] October holidays, you’re looking at an average term of about 120 days and young people need time to recuperate," said Klopper.
Klopper also criticised the decision made by the Department and said that they did not have consultations with unions about this decision beforehand. He added that the Department's decision was not supported by many other teachers' unions.
The Department of Basic Education is yet to make a formal announcement about the future of third term school holidays.
Parents react to the possibility of schools not closing
Briefly News contacted a few parents to find out how they felt about the department's decision to not have October holidays.
Mrs Masebe, who has young children in primary school, says the cancellation of the October school holidays would disrupt her plans financially. She says she would now be forced to pay full price for school transport, which she had not budgeted for.
Ms Matenchi says she does not mind school holidays being cancelled because she works and does not have to make childcare arrangements.
Mrs Tala says the decision by the Department has made her anxious about the well-being of her children. She said that school kids will be tired and will lack concentration at school because they were not given the opportunity to rest.
Mrs Makua says:
"I don't have a problem with it. Our children are safe at school."
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says sporting events at schools will resume
Briefly News previously reported that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has given the green light for sporting events to resumes at schools after schools reopened under adjusted Level 3 lockdown regulations.
In a gazette issued over the weekend, Motshekga made an allowance for contact and non-contact sports as well as arts and culture events to resume, according to a report by News24.
These events have been given the go-ahead, however, no spectators will be allowed to attend.
According to the gazette, pupils are now allowed to travel to other schools as well as other provinces to take part in national, provincial and district championships and tournaments, according to TimesLIVE.
Source: Briefly News
