Grade 12 learners practising social distancing while waiting to be screened(Cebelihle Mthethwa,News24)
- 104 schools in KZN did not open with the rest of the country due to water challenges.
- More than 6 000 schools opened in the province on Monday.
- KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu was impressed by the overall readiness of schools.
More than 100 schools in KwaZulu-Natal did not open with the rest of the schools around the country on Monday due to water challenges, the province’s Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu has confirmed.
During his visit to schools, Mshengu said it was expected that over 6 000 schools in the KZN province would open.
However, 104 schools would not be opening due to water shortages.
“Those learners that are affected are actually being transported to nearby schools with enough floor space, so that we can continue with teaching and learning”, said Mshengu.
“We are working with the municipality and Rand Water in delivering water tanks to schools, expecting that by the end of the week, all schools should be opened,” he said.
Mshengu visited three schools in the Umlazi District – Sibusisiwe Comprehensive Technical school, Sibongindlela High and Durban Girls’ High.
Screening capacity
On Sunday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that 95% of schools had the necessary equipment, while plans were afoot for pupils at the rest.
Speaking about the effectiveness of PPE, Mshengu raised concerns about screening capacity.
In the three schools that the MEC visited, personnel screened pupils as they entered the school.
Learners screened as they enter the school (Cebelihle Mthethwa, News24)
“The only thing that I have noticed that we need to attend to, is the screening capacity,” he said.
“It is causing some delays in the start of teaching and learning, but we will be attending to that.”
“Most of the schools with large number of learners will have these challenges if we don’t increase the capacity of screeners,” he added.
Readiness
Grade 12 pupils at the three schools were divided into their respective classrooms and given masks and gloves.
The MEC expressed his gratitude for the level of readiness that teachers and pupils showed on their first day back.
He said their presence indicated an eagerness to return to teaching and learning and that they were keen on saving the school year.
“What is important now is that we are working together as a sector, the department, the unions and SGBs,” the MEC said.
He said they had agreed it was everyone’s responsibility to prepare schools.
“The challenge in the past was that the unions were pulling the other side, while the department was also pulling in a different direction.”
“Now we’re agreed that everyone must go to school, except those who are not ready,” he said.
