Eastern Cape delays pupils’ return to class

The Eastern Cape education department has decided to delay the return to school of additional grades of pupils.

The phasing in of grades in Eastern Cape schools has been a contentious issue and the department issued an instruction late on Sunday that its second cohort of grades would only return to school from July 20. This includes grades 3, 6 and 11.

Grades 6, 11 and R across the country returned to school on Monday, although Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said provinces would have the option of a delayed start for Grade R pupils till at least the end of the month.

While DispatchLIVE has seen a copy of the provincial education department’s Instruction Note 37, written under the prevention and management of Covid-19 by superintendent general Temba Kojana, department officials did not respond to queries about the late decision to delay the phased return.

In the document, Kojana says schools which are unprepared to receive pupils must follow the new phasing in dates.

The correspondence was addressed to all district director generals, chief directors and directors, school principals, school governing bodies, organised labour and officials of the department.

Kojana said after receiving input from various stakeholders, the heads of departments of all education departments and the Council of Education Ministers (CEM), a new phase-in schedule was declared in the Eastern Cape.

According to the schedule, on July 20, pupils with severe and profound intellectual disabilities in years 1 to 3, pupils with severe intellectual disabilities (SID) in their final year, and autistic pupils will return to school with grades 3, 6 and 11.

Grades 4, 9, and 10, along with school of skills year 1 pupils, pupils with SID in grades 4 and 5, and senior pupils living with autism will return to school on July 27.

On August 3, pupils in grades 5 and 8, pupils with SID in grade 2 and 3, and junior pupils living with autism will return to school.

Pupils in grades 2 and 1 and pupils with SID in Grade 1 will go back to school on August 10.

Kojana said: “The corona pandemic remains a fluid situation, which is constantly monitored, and which necessitates decisions to be evaluated and reviewed as the situation changes.”

“The increase in the number of infections has again necessitated the education sector to review its plan for the phasing in of grades,” Kojana said.

He said schools which had applied and had been granted permission to accelerate the phasing in of grades could continue to do so.

Kojana said grades 7 and 12, which had returned to school, would remain in school.

During Sunday’s  media briefing, Motshekga said provinces which were “ready and safe” could phase in their Early Childhood Development programmes on Monday.

Motsghekga said provinces which were not ready to receive Grade R pupils from Monday “must provide a plan for the reincorporation of these learners by no later than the end of July”.

“A further agreement by the CEM is that all grades that are part of the second cohort should return to school in an orderly staggered fashion, but later than the end of July,” Motshekga said.

Last week, SG Kojana wrote to national director-general, Mathanzima Mweli, requesting that the national education ministry postpone the reopening of Eastern Cape schools to August 3, DispatchLIVE reported.

Kojana said the deviation would allow the department additional time to strengthen its planning and implementation measures to address the increase in infection rates.

However, a statement released on Thursday by national spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said grades 6, 11 and R would return to school on Monday in all provinces.

On Monday it was reported that provincial MEC Fundile Gade urged unprepared Eastern Cape schools not to reopen to other grades.

“While we have come to realise that Covid-19 is not just a matter of the department of health but requires our collective wisdom as the entire government of the EC, the recent developments of infections of our teachers, non-teaching staff and learners requires critical thinking and a detour from those bestowed with a responsibility to lead the populace of this province,” Gade said in an interview with sister newspaper The Herald.

By Gugu Phandle – DispatchLIVE