A worker sanitises a classroom at a Johannesburg school. (GCIS)
- 11 Gauteng teachers and a pupil have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of schools reopening on Monday.
- Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi told the Provincial Command Council the schools have been disinfected.
- 53 schools in the province will not open on Monday.
Eleven teachers and a pupil have tested positive for Covid-19 in Gauteng, Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi told a weekly Provincial Command Council meeting on Friday.
He said the schools where the teachers and the pupil attended had since been disinfected and cleaned and would open on Monday when schooling’s expected to resume around the country.
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Lesufi said they have also traced the contacts of all those who tested positive.
He said there were only 67 schools experiencing challenges in Gauteng – 53 of these will not open on Monday.
Lesufi said his department would publish all the names of the schools that won’t open on Monday.
About 27 of those schools are in Sedibeng where there are serious water shortages and poor sanitation.
“Even if we can put water tanks in those schools, we can’t risk the lives of pupils,” said Lesufi.
He said of the 577 schools in Gauteng, about 572 of them were cleaned by Bidvest.
The department intends deploying 1 800 trained members of youth brigades on Monday to all schools to assist in screening of people entering and leaving school premises.
“Pupils will be screened when they arrive, during lunch breaks and when they go home in the afternoon. We have finalised a resolution that everyone who transports children must be registered in order to receive relevant support and PPEs from government.
“Youth brigades will screen everyone inside learner transport vehicles and inspect if they have masks. We urge parents of pupils who are not part of our feeding programme to prepare their lunch at home,” said Lesufi.
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Other challenges the department has faced as it prepares to reopen schools is vandalism during lockdown.
“On Thursday, 15 more schools were hit and in one school in Nellmapius all learner gadgets were stolen. In some schools levels of vandalism and theft are severe. We have 138 schools without perimeter fencing and have budgeted funds to fix the fencing.
“We have 351 schools that were vandalised either through theft or arson. Three of them were badly damaged and we are making arrangements in the interim,” said Lesufi.
