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The basic education department has welcomed the rejection of an application in the higher court seeking to prevent the government from resuming teaching in schools below level 4 of the national closure.
The Limpopo High Court resolved the matter on Tuesday, ruling that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case presented by the Tebeila Leadership, Governance and Training Institute and the African Institute for Human Rights and Constitutional Litigation urgently. .
Judge Gerrit Muller, who heard the matter in Polokwane, did not make an order about the costs.
The bodies went to court after Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that her department planned to resume teaching by allowing different grades to return to the classroom in phases, beginning with 7th and 12th graders on 1 June. He added that the return dates were based on whether the schools were considered safe.
The department says Muller agreed with his argument that the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria was the competent court to judge the case.
Muller said this was because the department and ministry offices were located in the capital.
The department said it would now continue the plan outlined by the minister last week.
In a statement released after the ruling, the department said it told the court that “the planned reopening of the schools had been carried out together with provinces, other government departments, all stakeholders and civil society through a process of consult for several weeks. “
“The Minister’s announcement proposed only provisional dates. The final date for the reopening of schools will be informed by the schools’ readiness to reopen. In the affidavit of response, Director General Mathanzima Mweli said that Minister Angie Motshekga did not submit the draft Recovery Plan overnight, but was developing it with rational, thoughtful and responsible input from the parties. interested, as well as interested and affected parties.
“Additionally, the decision to reopen the schools will only be finalized after the National Coronavirus Command Council has approved the school’s recovery plans and is satisfied with the full risk assessment,” the statement read.
He said the health department would also need to approve the reopening of the schools.
Last week, the institute said the plan to open schools does not “protect children’s right to life because students will be exposed to the possibility of contracting Covid-19. Children, unlike adults, are not the responsible enough to take care of themselves. “
Motshekga and his department have faced pressure from a variety of organizations, including teacher unions, parents, and school government groups, which have been pushing for delayed teaching in schools.
An earlier version of the department’s draft recovery plan indicated that 7th and 12th graders would return to school on May 6.
Many of the groups were concerned that the government did not have strong enough security measures, such as running water and personal protective equipment, available in all schools.
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