As schools reopen tomorrow, the Democratic Alliance (DA) wishes all learners and teachers well for the 2021 academic year. We hope that this year will be a success.
The continued lockdowns at the height of the pandemic posed a serious threat to the education of children. Learners and teachers are no doubt still reeling from the disruptions and we certainly hope that 2021 will be free from many of the Covid challenges which characterized the previous academic year.
The health and safety of learners and teachers should however remain a priority, and we hope that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has used the two weeks delay in the reopening of schools to get its house in order and to ensure a safe reopening of schools on Monday.
To monitor and assess the reopening of schools, I, together with my colleague Desiree van der Walt MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, will embark on a series of oversight visits to schools across the country. This will entail visiting different provinces and districts to engage stakeholders and identify to what extent schools are ready for opening.
During these oversight visits we will assess the state of school readiness for the 2021 academic year as well as the progress made on some of the historical challenges within the schooling system:
- Compliance with Covid regulations, such as PPE and social distancing;
- Emergency plans for positive cases and learners and teachers with comorbidities;
- to safe and clean water and sanitation.
- Curriculum coverage and learning resources;
- School infrastructure
- Scholar Transport ; and
- School nutrition programmes.
The oversight visits will take place as follows and further details will be communicated:
- 15 February: Limpopo
- 22 February: Eastern Cape
- 23 – 24 February: Mpumalanga
- 25 – 26 February: North West
- 1 March : Gauteng
- 4 March: KwaZulu-Natal
- 5 March: Northern Cape
- 9 – 10 March: Free State
Following the school oversight visits a full report will be prepared for the Minister and Portfolio committee with attached solutions to any of the issues we will come across from the visits and meeting with stakeholders.
The DA will continue to utilize our oversight duties to ensure that the DBE puts the needs of learners and teachers first by creating safe and conducive learning environments.
The DA is of the view that schools that do not adhere to the regulations, cannot reopen until such time that they are compliant.
Ultimately, vaccination is the only guarantee that South Africans have of returning to normality in 2021. Most of the rest of the world have already started their vaccination programmes, therefore we will follow up with Minister Motshekga on a clear and succinct plan to vaccinate teachers so as to return to some sense of normality without compromising the future of this country’s education.