By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
All schools across the country will return to full-time attendance from Monday (7 February) next week following a decision taken at a meeting of the Council of Education Ministers this morning.
This comes after Cabinet said primary, secondary and special schools should return to daily attendance and the regulatory provision for social distancing of one metre for learners in schools would no longer be mandatory.
In a statement, the Department of Basic Education said it welcomed the decision by Cabinet to allow schools to return to full-time learning in all schools.
“The Council of Education Ministers met this morning to process the decision. CEM agreed that schools would return to normal timetabling as from Monday, 7 February 2022,” the department said.
While a series of meetings have been scheduled with stakeholders to inform them of the decision, the sector will in the meantime be preparing for the full return of learners.
“The Minister will gazette new directions in the coming days to reflect the Cabinet decision and to also provide guidance ahead of the resumption of traditional time-tabling,” the department said.
The department said the CEM is set to meet again on Friday and is expected to thereafter host a media briefing.
Cabinet said that information gathered from the Department of Health showed that South Africa had exited the fourth wave Covid-19 nationally.
Based on the trajectory of the pandemic and the levels of vaccination in the country, cabinet therefore decided to make changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 with immediate effect.
Meanwhile Western Cape Education MEC, Debbie Schäfer, says schools in the Western Cape will be ready to welcome all learners from next Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the MEC said the department has welcomed Cabinet’s decision for all schools to return on a full-time basis.
“We met this morning with Minister Angie Motshekga, and the plan is that schools should be ready to receive all learners from Monday next week. This will give them time to make all the necessary arrangements,” Schäfer said.
Schäfer said she was extremely pleased, as they have been calling for this development.
“The time lost in school has implications not only for academic progress but also aggravates societal issues such as learner pregnancies and the risk of dropping out of school. Parents have had to make alternative arrangements whilst trying to work, or if they cannot, their children are left unattended, adding to safety risks.”
The MEC said she also raised the issue of mask-wearing for children be reconsidered following a number of requests from parents and it was agreed that “the matter will be processed through the Council of Education Ministers for recommendations and consideration”.