116 primary schools in the Western Cape will operate at full capacity, from Monday.
The Department of Basic Education announced
that primary schools can operate fully, depending on various health and safety
protocols, including a 1 metre physical distancing measure.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) says
894 out of the 1 010 schools in the province cannot comply with the 1 metre
physical distancing rule, and therefore have been approved to continue with
rotational basis.
‘’The WCED has decided, in terms of the
differentiated risk adjusted strategy and the health and safety requirements,
to allow for schools who have indicated that they are unable to safely return to
a traditional timetabling model, to continue with their revised timetables
based on rotation,’’ says WCED spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond.
38 out of 72 special needs schools in the
Western Cape will also return to 100% capacity.
‘’These figures do not surprise us, as it
mirrors similar figures when schools could apply for 100% attendance earlier
this year,’’ added Hammond.
At the same time, the WCED revealed that 38
Western Cape schools have reported incidents of vandalism, burglary, or
attempted burglary, over the July school holidays.
Items stolen included sports equipment,
gardening and maintenance equipment, fencing, building fixtures, lighting and
electrical cables, IT equipment, stationery, kitchen equipment, and food for
school meals.
‘’I am extremely disappointed that our schools
have once again been targeted by ruthless criminals while closed for the
holidays. Our schools are already operating in difficult circumstances, and the
last thing they need is to be further disrupted by damages and theft. Even
where nothing was stolen, the attempts by these criminals to gain access to a
school property caused damage to infrastructure.’’ Said Education MEC, Debbie
Schafer
The MEC urged the public to report any
suspicious activity in the vicinity of schools to SAPS or the Safe Schools hotline
on 0800 45 46 47
Done By: Mitchum George
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