Gauteng Schools Remain Open Despite Snow and Bitter Cold Weather Conditions

• Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile confirmed schools across the province remain open despite freezing temperatures gripping parts of South Africa
• A fake letter falsely claiming schools had closed due to cold weather began circulating in one of Gauteng's districts, prompting the department to respond
• Maile urged parents to dress children warmly and cautioned against lighting fires inside closed buildings during the cold spell

GAUTENG - Gauteng schools will not be closing their doors because of the current cold snap. Education MEC Lebogang Maile confirmed on Wednesday that learners and educators who are able to travel safely should continue attending school as normal.

Maile said the department had received no reports of weather-related incidents at any schools and that teaching and learning were continuing without disruption across the province.

Fake closure letter dismissed

A false letter claiming that schools in one of Gauteng's districts had been shut due to the cold weather began making its rounds on social media. Maile moved swiftly to address the misinformation, saying schools in the affected district had been told to disregard the letter entirely.

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He stressed that normal operations remain in place unless conditions deteriorate to the point where schools can no longer function safely.

See post from the MEC here:

MEC urges warmth and caution

While schools stay open, Maile did not downplay the seriousness of the weather. He called on parents and guardians, particularly those in the areas expected to bear the coldest conditions, to make sure children arrive at school properly dressed for the temperatures.

"We appeal to parents and guardians, particularly in areas expected to experience the coldest conditions, to make sure that our children are properly dressed and kept warm," he said.

He also asked schools to exercise reasonable flexibility when learners need to wear additional warm clothing because of the severe conditions.

On the matter of safety, Maile issued a firm warning against a common winter hazard. "We caution everyone to keep warm and safe and not to light fires inside closed buildings, so that we don't have any unfortunate incidents," he said.

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The MEC summed up the department's position plainly:

"Our priority is to keep learners safe, warm and in the classroom."

The guidance comes as snowfall and freezing temperatures continue to affect several parts of South Africa, with authorities across the country urging residents to take precautions during the cold spell.

SAWS issues yellow level 2 warning

Briefly News also reported that the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued multiple severe weather warnings covering cold conditions, damaging winds, and disruptive snowfall expected to affect several provinces from Sunday through to mid-week. A Yellow Level 2 warning for damaging winds is in place for the central interior. On Sunday, surface winds of 50 to 60 km/h with gusts reaching up to 90 km/h were forecast over the south of the Northern Cape and the extreme west of the Free State.

Source: Briefly News