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Going back to its previous one, which prohibited students with COVID-19 from entering test sites, DBE now says that candidates who test positive and are deemed fit will be able to write in a different place and in safe conditions.
Students sit behind protective shields as a preventive measure against the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in a classroom in Daejeon on May 20, 2020. Image: AFP
CAPE TOWN / DURBAN – The Basic Education department said Thursday that students who tested positive for COVID-19 could write final matriculation exams.
Previously, the department issued a set of guidelines stating that students who tested positive for the virus would not be allowed into the test center.
Now candidates who test positive and are deemed eligible will be able to write in a different place and in safe conditions.
Elijah Mhlanga, from the department, said: “This arrangement will ensure that students previously informed that they would not be able to take exams can now do so. The health department says it will help the education department with the management of the exams, especially for those affected. “
The department added that students who were tested at the entrance to the test site and showed a temperature above 38 ° C could write in an isolated location in the school.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Teachers Union of South Africa (Sadtu) and the National Organization of Professional Teachers of South Africa (Naptosa) said they did not want students who tested positive for COVID-19 to write their exams in their respective schools.
However, the basic education department insisted that students who were infected with the coronavirus write their exams in an isolation place within their schools following the instructions of the health department.
Union leaders said they had requested an urgent meeting with Minister Angie Motshekga to discuss this decision, as they believed it could lead to the spread of the virus.
Sadtu and Naptosa say that while they recognize the right of each student to write their exam, the health and safety of others, including educators, cannot be compromised.
They claim that the basic education department has made a decision again without consulting them.
Sadtu General Secretary Mugwena Maluleke said: “The problem is that the protocol said that no one showing any symptoms should be allowed into the school. So how do you change that without consulting it? Who is going to monitor that particular student, because teachers are not trained to monitor in those circumstances. “
The two unions said the education department should find places for the infected students outside of school.
They asked their members to inform them if they had to come in contact with an infected student.
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