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By Siyabonga Mkhwanazi 
10h ago
DURBAN – The Department of Basic Education ordered thousands of teachers working from home to return to school on Monday due to the low risk of infection.
During the lockdown, teachers with comorbidities were asked to work from home to reduce their risk of contracting the virus.
The department said on Saturday that since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country was moving to Level 1, this meant there was a lower risk of infection.
“More than 22,500 teachers received approval for concession throughout the country in terms of the Collective Agreement 1 of 2020. The objective of the Collective Agreement was to grant a concession for employed educators in terms of Law No. 78 of 1998 of the Employment Law of Educators), who are affected by risk factors for severe COVID-19, ”the department said in a statement.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 that the country would move to alert level 1. Level 1 is defined as a low level of infections
together with a high level of preparedness of the health system. Since the country has dropped to alert level 1, the risk has been reduced to a low level, so the risk for these teachers has been reduced considerably, ”he said.
“The implication of the president’s announcement to move the country to alert level 1 means that the concessions to work from home will no longer apply as of midnight on Sunday, September 20, 2020.
“Therefore, affected people will have to report to service starting Monday, September 21, 2020. However, if some people are still not feeling well, they are advised to follow normal sick leave protocols,” he said. the Department.
The department has been making progress in returning students to school over the past two months.
This followed an earlier intervention by the unions that schools were not ready to reopen. But the government has gradually relaxed the blocking restrictions.
Schools have been using the rotation system for students to attend classes.
The department also said in the statement that since teachers with comorbidities were returning to school on Monday, provincial departments must honor contracts with substitute teachers.
“As teachers with comorbidities will return to school on Monday, the provincial education department
it must comply with the contractual obligations contracted between the substitute educators and the provincial department, ”he said.
He added that the provinces should find other ways to use these substitute teachers.
MESS
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