October school holidays DBE

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‘Safest option’: DBE determined to keep schools open during third wave

Officials for the Department of Basic Education have argued that children are ‘much safer at school’ than they are at home, while the third wave rages.

October school holidays DBE

Photo: Unsplash

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has dug its heels in this week, and they are adamant that schools must not close even as the third wave of coronavirus infections spread across the country. Throughout the past 15 months, there have been enormous disruptions to the educational calendar – and officials say they ‘cannot take any more’.

Will schools close in South Africa due to the third wave?

This comes in the wake of threats made by the EFF last week. Party leader Julius Malema has demanded that all schools must close immediately, to quell the spread of COVID-19. He issued a ‘seven-day ultimatum’ for Minister Angie Motshekga, and vowed to lead protests if classrooms remained open after his self-imposed deadline.

However, Juju’s grandiose criticism is not likely to sway the DBE. They are determined to keep children IN school, because it’s the ‘safest possible environment for them’. Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga told the media on Tuesday evening that children could not afford to have a second year of learning interrupted by closures.

Mhlanga keen to avoid ‘second year of no effective learning’

He argues that, when schools revert to non-contact learning, pupils are more likely to mingle and play throughout the day. Mhlanga’s greatest fear is that millions of poor families will see their children fall behind, due to the impact of lockdown:

“Closing schools is just a simplistic view. Those who want closure must look into the future and see if these kids can go into a second year of no effective learning. What is going to happen to them? Outside in the street when schools are closed, there is no control, there’s no supervision.”

“The children are playing all day, no one sees what they’re doing, they can go get the virus and transfer it to each other. When the parents don’t have the ability to teach their children, they are not even able to support them with curriculum work. And because of that, the learning loss itself doubles and multiplies, and kids are left behind.”