Naptosa
Teacher unions express mixed feelings about reopening of schools on Monday
The start of the 2021 academic calendar was pushed back last month by two weeks to deal with the rising COVID-19 cases.
Public school teachers returned to work on Monday to prepare for the official re-opening in two weeks’ time, many facing the reality of losing their colleagues to the virus.
According to unions, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo teachers have been hardest hit by the pandemic.
They say while an agreement was reached to push back the return of pupils, they were never consulted about the early return of school management teams and teachers.
In the last year, the department like many others has been forced to adapt to new ways of teaching and learning, thanks to COVID-19.
The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) is worried the process might have to be interrupted.
The Department of Basic Education last week announced pupils that contract the virus would be allowed to write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, but at a separate venue.
Going back on its previous which prohibited pupils with COVID-19 from entering exam venues, DBE now says candidates who test positive and are deemed fit, will be allowed to write at a different venue and under secure conditions.
Many parents, teachers, and other school staff remain anxious as thousands of grade seven pupils in public schools returned to the class on Tuesday after a two-week break.
The Basic Education Department issued an appeal to parents and communities to protect schools against disruptions, as grade seven pupils returned to the classrooms on Tuesday.
Naptosa’s president Basil Manuel on Monday said the focus should be on the 2021 curriculum and determining what should be carried over.
Naptosa’s Basil Manuel said seven of the country’s nine provinces failed dismally in providing PPE to schools.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said they have heard concerns raised by parents, unions and teachers as COVID-19 infections surge in the country.
Natu and Naptosa have accused the Basic Education Department of failing to meet their non-negotiables, which include the replacement of teachers with comorbidities.
On Monday, grade R, 6 and 11 pupils across the country returned to school after spending months at home under lockdown.
Earlier on Wednesday, director general Mathanzima Mweli presented the sector’s COVID-19 plan in Parliament, which coud see matrics and grades 7s being the first group of pupils to return to their classrooms.
Schools have been closed for almost two months as the country continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manuel points out this is still a document in discussion.
A 17-year-old pupil from a Zeerust school in the North West was arrested on Thursday for allegedly stabbing his teacher, Gadimang Mokolobate, to death.