The Deputy minister of Basic Education  Reginah Mhaule briefed the media regarding the reopening of schools, she announced that Minister Angie Motshega is still on sick leave and recovering well at home. She said the department was forced to revise the school calendar for 2020, which automatically affected the 2021 school calendar. In initially they revised the 2021 school calendar; and moved the dates from 13 January to 25 January 2021 for teachers; and the 27 January 2021 for learners.

Mhaule said the COVID-19 infection rate has increased, and more people are getting infected by the virus.  "We are seeing more deaths to the extent that almost everybody knows somebody who has been affected by it.  In some instances, COVID-19 has wiped out entirely families.  It has left massive devastation in its wake, and for many people, their circumstances have changed for the worse forever."

Between Tuesday and Wednesday (12 and 13 January 2021), the department consulted the Council of Education Ministers (CEM), the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM), the national school governing body associations, teacher unions, learner formations, principal associations, as well as the national associations representing independent schools and learners with special education needs.  All stakeholders were united in supporting a delay in the opening of schools. This is given 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, the Council of Education Ministers in conjunction with the National Coronavirus Command Council and Cabinet, has taken the decision to delay the reopening of both public and private schools with two weeks. 

This includes private schools that have reopened already. They will need to postpone their reopening to a later date. Mhaule says 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. For public schools and private schools which follow the same calendar, changes are as follows:

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.

She added that the basic education sector, has also felt the impact of COVID-19 pandemic during the marking of the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination scripts.

" Some of our markers have passed away; while others withdrew from marking, due to fear and anxiety; but also because for some of them, their own family members have tested positive.  In the majority of cases, the educators indicated they had attended funerals or ceremonies, attended by big groups of people; resulting in gatherings that were not monitored for compliance with health protocols, which includes the wearing of masks, social distancing, and regular sanitising of hands." 

The department is set to have a series of meetings with provinces next week, to check on the very latest, regarding the state of readiness; taking into account the Cabinet decision from yesterday’s meeting. Now that Cabinet has taken a decision, they will once again go back to their stakeholders for consultation on the details of the opening of schools for 2021 school year, amid the pandemic.