DA Calls for Extension to School Day Due to Lost Time, SA Opposes Move: "Hulle Is Mal"

• The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the government to consider its suggestion of an extension for teaching and learning at schools
• In its recovery plan, which it will submit to the basic education department in due course, the party wants the school day to be an hour longer
• South Africans slammed the suggestion on social media, citing several concerns, including the likelihood of a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections

JOHANNESBURG - There is a heightened call from the Democratic Alliance (DA) for government to look into extending the school day. This is so learners can catch up on much of the teaching and learning time lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The party proposes that the Department of Basic Education enforce an extension of at least one hour following the move to do away with rotational learning on 1 February. Information suggesting that South Africa had moved past the fourth wave of Covid-19 infections fueled this decision, News24 reported.

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Schools across all nine provinces resorted to a rotational system to minimise the headcount since the first lockdown was enforced in March 2020, thereby decreasing the spread of the virus.

Last week, Baxolile Nodada, the DA's Shadow Minister of Basic Education, implored the government to end the state of emergency and prioritise dealing with unemployment, in addition to recovering lost teaching and learning time, SowetanLIVE reported.

750 000 learners left school

Nodada said his party is getting ready to submit its curriculum recovery plan to the education department – which, partly, would recommend the extension to the school day.

"Additionally, the plan will outline the recruitment of former educators to deliver extra lessons after school and on weekends, so learners can get up to speed on the curriculum," said Nodada.

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"Pupils who dropped out during the pandemic should be tracked and drafted back in as part of this approach," he added, noting that about 750 000 learners dropped out of school during the pandemic.

"We will monitor the recovery plan until it is satisfied it has been implemented. The department should work with the Department of Social Development to get this large pool back to school.

The DA concluded oversight visits at schools in all nine provinces on Monday. The objective was to assess the recovery plans that are currently in place at the various schools. Parents and guardians chipped in on the DA's suggestion that the Department of Education extends the school day.

Calls for extension unsupported

Many were critical of the party and argued that their stance was ill-informed as the country still faces the possibility of a fifth wave. Below are some of the reactions.

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@Abdul Solomoms wrote:

"They worried about extra minutes for schooling and missing pupils who don't want to be in school. Yet nothing is done with regard to placing pupils in schools in their backyard. Viz pupils not placed yet."

@Nthabiseng Molefe-Motloutsi said:

"That's too much and not fair on the kids. They already spend 6 hours at school... What should they do the same working hours as the working adults and still get home and do homework."

@Cindy-Lee Johannes added:

"The DA wants to talk too much. Schools come out at around 3 pm. Then kids get home with a mountain of homework. Do they want to kill the kids' attention spans?"

Mzansi wants all Covid-19 regulations to end

Elsewhere, Briefly News previously reported that South African children will be attending school on a full-time basis for the first time since the implementation of the Covid-19 regulations.

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This comes after the basic education department decided to abandon the rotational timetable, which meant the pupils attended in-person classes for only 10 days a month.

Cabinet came to this decision on 31 January and in the statement issued by the Office of the Presidency, schools resumed on a full-time schedule as of Tuesday, 1 February, according to News24.

Source: Briefly News