Johannesburg - The South African Democratic Teachers Union has resolved during a special national executive committee meeting that all schools must be closed ahead of the country's Covid-19 peak.
Sadtu, the country's biggest teacher union, said it took the decision after a special national executive committee meeting on Tuesday.
It is calling on the Department of Basic Education to close all schools with immediate effect.
“The NEC, upon receiving all provincial reports about the dire state of the system on the ground, thus took the decision to call on the DBE to suspend all schooling activities with immediate effect until the peak of the pandemic rescinds,” said secretary-general Mugwena Maluleke.
Sadtu is also calling for the Grade 12 calendar in particular to be aligned with that of the Department of Higher Education, which conceded last week that the 2020 academic year would only be finished in the "early part of 2021".
“The NEC further makes a call that whilst consideration should be made for the Grade 12 class in strictly controlled environments like camps, there should be a consideration to align their examinations in line with the DHET plans so that pressure and anxiety is addressed,” said Maluleke.
Sadtu had held the meeting after concerns of rising Covid-19 infections at schools around the country.
The coronavirus has now killed over 4 100 people and infected over 280 000 people in South Africa, as of July 13.
Just a month ago, on June 14, the virus had killed 1 480 and infected just over 70 000 people, data shows.
Maluleke said the rising coronavirus community transmissions were hampering schooling and the union had resolved that schools should close until after the Covid peak.
He said schools were also rocked by high absenteeism and substitute teachers for older teachers with underlying conditions was proving a problem to contend with for the departments.
“When the minister of Basic Education announced that schools would be opened under Alert Level 4, Sadtu, together with other teacher unions, called on the minister to ensure the safety of teachers, lecturers, education support personnel, learners and students because we could not afford to lose lives,” he said.
Teacher unions at the time had raised concerns about the provincial education departments' readiness and outlined non-negotiable demands, which included the disinfecting of schools, smaller class sizes, the provision of personal protective equipment, screening of teachers and pupils, and provision of masks and sanitisers, among others.
“These non-negotiables would have ensured that the learning and teaching environment is compliant and optimal for school based activities to unfold in safe conditions.
“All evidence on the ground is that there is no effective teaching and learning that is taking place under the current conditions. The pandemic has led to pandemonium in the education sector and this can be linked to the lacklustre leadership that we have been experiencing from the DBE at various levels,” said Maluleke.
The union also said they had agreed for schools to reopen after studies were cited showing that children did not infect each other and that there were little to no fatalities among children.
Sadtu said the local situation was at odds with the research as seven pupils had already died due to the virus.
“The South African situation has provided another side of the virus where so many learners have been infected and seven have lost their lives,” said Maluleke.
He was also concerned about the fact that some scientists were reporting that the virus could now be airborne.
“The other development that compelled the leadership to request a meeting with the minister was the airborne nature of the virus. This required the response in how to deal with the classroom situation.
“It required new ways of treating closed environment and the ventilation issues. Can we open the windows in the middle of a freezing winter day?
“The peak and the influenza period offered an opportunity to get the scientists to work on the response whilst the learners were at home,” he said.
Sadtu is calling for radio lessons and the use of technology such as WhatsApp and virtual classrooms to take place during the period they propose schools be closed.