The move came after a Cabinet decision at the end of January to end rotational learning with immediate effect, and to remove physical distancing measures. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - Although the full-time return of all learners to school today has been welcomed by many, education activists are calling for the government to deal with the issue of overcrowded classrooms in the Western Cape.
Congress of SA Students (Cosas) provincial secretary Mphumzi Giwu said they were concerned about overcrowded township schools that are experiencing an influx.
Giwu said the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has over time ignored their call to engage with the former Model C schools about their standard operation procedure with regards to their intake and the management of that intake, so as not to exclude learners from historically disadvantaged areas.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer welcomed the confirmation by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, that schools were ready for full-time return to classrooms from today.
Schäfer said she was disappointed that the publication of the official directions has been delayed until the last minute.
“We are well aware that we will have schools with overcrowding. The increase of learners by about 18 000 a year in the province continues, Covid19 has not changed this,” Schäfer said.
She said the increases would continue to exacerbate overcrowding.
“We will monitor these individual cases and any difficulties are being addressed on a case-by-case basis supported by our district offices,” Schäfer said.
Motshekga said children at primary, secondary and special schools would resume full-time attendance. She added that the scrapping of the rotational timetable, which was implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic, had been gazetted.
The move came after a Cabinet decision at the end of January to end rotational learning with immediate effect, and to remove physical distancing measures.
Progressive Principals’ Association (PPA) spokesperson Anthea Adriaanse said while they promoted the full-time return to school for all learners, teachers needed to adapt to a class scenario of 45 plus learners, and there was a concern about their ability to cope.
National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA executive director Basil Manuel said they were comfortable with the full-time return to school.
“We are comfortable with the return to school. We are not comfortable with some of the things that have been left undone.”
Education activist Hendrick Makaneta said the return of all learners to full-scale time tables would certainly restore order to learning and teaching. He said it should be clear at this point that learners lost most of the lessons as a result of the rotational time table.
“What is encouraging is that the minister has responded partly to the question of safety by giving an indication that there should be minimal movement in and out of schools by members of the public.
“Such a move will address some of the burning issues, such as parents going into schools to attack teachers – as has happened in some of the schools across the country,” he said.
Xola Fakude, Head of Secretariat at SA Democratic Teachers Union, said they believed they had suffered a lot because of the rotational learning system.
“It bears a heavy administrative burden on teachers and learners as well. We observed that we even lose the momentum in terms of the learning and therefore that affects curriculum coverage,” Fakude said.
sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za