Private Schools Reopen from 1 February, Public Schools 2 Weeks Later
- Private schools will open a full two weeks before public schools, private schools will open on 1 February and public schools on 15 February
- The government has defended the decision, saying that the delay on opening government schools is to reduce the pressure on the healthcare system
- However, the two-week delay will further increase the gaps which the school closures have created, particularly with matrics
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Pupils privileged enough to attend private schools will also get two weeks more class time that kids that attend public schools.
From 1 February Private schools will reopen and two weeks on the 15th of February.
The thinking behind the delayed opening of government schools is to reduce the pressure of the healthcare system.
Source: Facebook
The planned reopening dates were published in the Government Gazette on Friday according to ENCA.
However, there are concerns that the gaps which accumulate in pupils learning will widen as a result of the delayed reopening.
Business Tech reported that schools will have to cover the missed content from this year as well as content what needed to be covered from the lockdown in 2020 for those who were in Grade 11.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that Mzansi singer Kelly Khumalo is not happy with the extended closure of schools in South Africa. Kelly is mostly not impressed with the fact that parents are still expected to pay school fees in full, even though schools are not operating fully.
The Department of Education has decided to keep schools closed because of the second wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.
Kelly is not thrilled with how parents have work commitments but they are still expected to home school their children, along with paying for fees.
In other news, the nation's top private schools are demanding that pupils test negative for Covid-19 before being allowed to return to the classroom.
Hilton College and St Anne's Diocesan College, the nation's most expensive schools, were the first to jump on this bandwagon.
Hilton headmaster George Harris sent out a letter to parents requesting that students test before their return in order to start the year on a 'clean slate'.
Harris pointed out that a single positive infection would have a devastating impact on the school:
"If even a single boy tests positive prior to his arrival, and does not return on account of this, we will have managed a potential outbreak in a dorm which will be especially helpful to all of us.”
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Source: Briefly News
