Schools to reopen mid-february

With the country experiencing a second wave of COVID-19, government has decided to delay the reopening of both public and private schools by two weeks, to 15 February 2021.

Addressing a media briefing on Friday in Pretoria, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Reginah Mhaule, said the decision to delay the opening of schools was made by the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) in conjunction with the National Coronavirus Command Council and Cabinet.

This decision took into consideration the pressure experienced by the health system in the past few weeks, occasioned by increased COVID-19 infections, which has led to the second wave.

Private schools that have reopened already will need to postpone their reopening to a later date.

“This is done to provide relief to the health system which is already struggling to cope with the current demands. The new dates for the reopening of private schools will vary depending on the calendar that they follow,” the Deputy Minister said.

 

For public schools and private schools, which follow the same calendar, changes are as follows:

·        School Management Teams (SMTs) shall report for duty on Monday, 25 January 2021;

·        Teachers shall follow on Monday, 1 February 2021; and

·        Learners return on Monday, 15 February 2021.

 

The SMTs will go first to prepare for the return of teachers; and the teachers will prepare for the return of learners. 

“Schools will use the time to finalise outstanding matters, regarding admissions, especially the unplaced learners in certain cases.

 

Done By: Mitchum George