Faizel Patel – 08/07/2021
The Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie CEO Chris Klopper says reopening schools on the 19th of July is too early as the third wave continues its cycle across South Africa.
Teacher unions are concerned that the third wave of COVID-19 will not be over by the time schools reopen,
If the latest infection numbers is any indication, they could be right as Coronavirus cases continue to spike across the country, especially in Gauteng.
Schools closed a week early as the third wave of the virus hit the country hard.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Klopper says from the outset they have emphasised that the shifting of the school holidays is a change in the school calendar.
“We said that closing the schools a week earlier is to address and mitigate the effects of the third wave. It was never the intention to change the school calendar. We still think that the 19th is going to be too early and that the earliest date is possibly the 26th.”
Klopper says they are advising their members and schools to start with looking at what the possibility is of having a risk-adjusted strategy in the week schools reopen on the 19th.
“If need be and they see that in that particular community that there’s still a high level of of infections, that they must move towards a distance learning model or an online model. Many of the schools are quite adapt at that particular approach.”
He says despite claims of the decline in Matric results, the quality and standard of last years Matric exams was exactly on par with previous years.
Klopper also added that it would be difficult to accommodate and integrate teachers who refuse to vaccinate in the school environment.
Listen to the interview with Chris Klopper
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