Motshekga announces reopening of schools will be postponed by 2 weeks
- Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has confirmed the new plan for the reopening of schools
- The original date has now been postponed for two weeks in the hopes that Covid-19 infections decline
- This comes after numerous bodies called for caution amid the second wave of cases
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Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has confirmed that the reopening of schools has been postponed.
Source: Getty Images
In a media briefing on Friday morning, the Minister announced that the date has been postponed to February 15.
Commenting on the decision Deputy Basic Education Minister Reginah Mhaule explained that:
“Given the pressure experienced by the health system in the past few weeks, occasioned by increased Covid-19 infections which has led to the second wave, the council of education ministers in conjunction with the national coronavirus command council and cabinet has taken the decision to delay the reopening of both public and private schools by two weeks."
This move includes private schools that have already reopened continued Mhaule:
“This includes private schools that have already reopened . They will need to postpone their reopening to a later date. This is to provide relief to the health system which is already struggling to cope with demands.”
The Deputy Minister says that the new dates for private schools to reopen will be dependant on the calendar they each follow.
For the rest of South Africa's schools, the following dates will now apply:
- January 25: School management teams report for duty
- February 1: Teachers report for duty
- February 15: Pupils return to school
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has called on the government to delay the reopening of schools.
Malema has warned against risking the lives of South African children amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking during the party's first media briefing for the year, Malema highlighted the EFF's concerns:
"As the EFF, we oppose the gambling of the lives of children, to a virus that all of humanity is yet to properly understand. It will be extremely painful when families start losing their children because as leaders we failed to respect the situation we find ourselves in and preserve the future of our nation."
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Source: Briefly News
