Cape Town - While the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education said Grade R pupils must stay home on Monday, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said that schools are allowed to deviate if the WCED approves of their reasoning.
Initially, Grades R, 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11 had been set to return to school on Monday, July 6 - in accordance with a Government Gazette published by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in June.
However on Thursday, the Council of Education Ministers - a body comprising Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and her nine provincial education MECs as well their HODs - announced that only Grade R, 6 and 11 would return to school on Monday.
Western Cape MEC for Education Debbie Schäfer said that they support the phased in approach of all grades.
"We welcome the differentiated approach to phasing in grades that has been provided for, and the ability for schools to adopt a slightly slower phasing in approach should they need to do so.
"Grades R, 6 and 11 must return to school on Monday, while schools may delay the return of the remaining grades scheduled to have returned next week (grades 1, 2, 3 and 10). Further details will be given at the media briefing this weekend as announced by the national minister," Schäfer said.
Schools are allowed to deviate in terms of Directions in Government Notice 343 (Government Gazette No: 43365) in terms of Regulation 4 (3) under the Disaster Management Act (57/2002).
The new directions state that a school may be permitted to deviate from the phased return to school in respect of specific grades provide such school:
a) Complies with the minimum health, safety and social distancing measures and requirements on Covid-19.
b) Has all the Covid-19 essentials in place.
c) That the principal and chairperson of the governing body notifies the Head of Department of its intention to deviate from the phased return to school and the timetable to be followed with the intended phased return to school.
d) The notification must be accompanied by a signed declaration by the principal and chairperson of the governing body which confirms that the school complies with the minimum health, safety and social distancing measures and requirements on Covid-19.
The WCED said a school may proceed with the deviation from the phased return to school once the notification and declaration, have been submitted to the Head of Department.
MEC Schäfer said this exception will be "conditional on parents taking responsibility to oversee their children’s learning at home, and to collect from and deliver to their child’s school whatever work is required".
"The duration of the exemption will be dependent on a continuing assessment of the status of the epidemic. As previously said, learners who have high-risk comorbidities may be kept at home by their parents, also on condition that they take responsibility for their learning at home, and on provision of medical evidence.
"Applications must be made to the Head of Department via the school principal. The relevant forms will be sent to schools in the next two days," Schäfer said.
"We appreciate that this is a difficult and uncertain time as we all adapt to the challenge of educating children in the context of a global pandemic. We again thank the officials, school staff, SGBs and parents who have worked hard to get our schools ready to accept more grades.
"We trust that all these options will serve to alleviate the majority of fears that have been expressed recently."
Cape Argus