President Ramaphosa said that he was extremely saddened and concerned to hear how many young people had dropped out of school and were sitting at home.
Section27 sought relief, saying that the plans were not constitutionally compliant.
The epidemic and lockdown resulted in 50% to 75% of learning time being lost last year said Minister Angie Motshekga.
During a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic in the province, Kwazulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said that talk of a potential disruption to services and business operations was just a baseless distraction.
The Department of Basic Education said that it was also likely that this loss of learning would have a greater impact in poorer communities where children had less access to effective remote opportunities and home support.
The South African Council for Educators has informed Parliament’s Basic Education committee that in the past five years, the most common reported sexual offences between educators and learners were sexual harassment, abuse, assault, rape and improper and sexual relationships.
Sadtu’s deputy general secretary, Nkosana Dolopi, said that government shouldn't be surprised when pupils got the virus, because they'd been warned about the dangers of overcrowded classrooms, especially in rural areas.
So far at least 3,000 schools still use pit toilets in the country most of them are in the EasterSo far, at least 3,000 schools still use pit toilets in the country, with most of them in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo.
The return of learners at primary school level comes on the back of a successful vaccination programme for the education sector, with more than 517,000 personnel having received their vaccines.
Sadtu said that many schools still faced problems, including overcrowding and inconsistent access to water and sanitation.
The department said that it had noted with concern misleading reports and misinformation regarding a circular it had distributed to schools last week.
R7 billion of that was allocated to the basic education department and Motshekga says R5 billion was used to employ almost 320,000 young people as teacher assistants and general workers.
Today Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga briefed the media on the sector's preparedness for the planned reopening of schools on Monday, 26 July 2021.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the sector is ready to open schools depending on what President Cyril Ramaphosa says during his address to the nation on the alert level 4 lockdown on Sunday.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motsekga will address the country on the sector's response to the impact that COVID -19 has had on teaching and learning.
Equal Education approached the courts with an urgent application against the Department of Basic Education and eight provincial education MECs after it found the department was in breach of a previous court order granted a year ago.
Last week, the Gauteng Education Department noted concerns that close to 10,000 education staff refused to be vaccinated. The Northern Cape and the Western Cape were also calling on teachers to come forward to get their jabs.
Motshekga has been giving an update today just hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced new restrictions as COVID infections rise across the country that's battered by the delta variant that is said to be more transmissible than previous variants.
