‘We feel danger’ – Lesufi calls on private schools to postpone reopening

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi.

• Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has called on all schools to remain closed until February 14.
• Lesufi was visiting Helpmekaar Kollege, which had prepared to allow its 1,200 pupils to return to school on Monday.
• Since then, the school has decided to migrate to online learning.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has called on private schools to follow the directive of the Department of Basic Education that schools reopen on February 15, as allowing students to return earlier could put great pressure on the health system of the province.

The schools were due to open on January 27. Some independent schools opened last week, but most were due to reopen on Monday.

Following consultations with education stakeholders, including teachers’ unions, school governing bodies and independent school associations, the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers of Education ( CEM) decided to delay the reopening, especially since the new variant of the virus in South Africa was said to affect young people.

Making the announcement during a press conference in Pretoria on Friday, Deputy Minister of Basic Education Reginah Mhaule said the decision was made to bring relief to the health system, which was no longer coping due to the high number of cases of Covid-19.

But while many independent schools decided to turn to online learning after the opening of schools was postponed, at least one private school in Johannesburg appeared to be an outlier.

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Helpmekaar Kollege in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, sent a newsletter to parents stating that the 1,200 pupils must report to school on Monday. In addition, a concert for eighth graders had been planned for Friday, January 22, and a choir camp for Saturday and Sunday, January 23 and 24.

But on Sunday, in a modified call, Helpmekaar – or Helpies, as it is affectionately known among its students and staff – said that it had decided to teach its students online starting Wednesday, January 20, according to its daily schedule (07: 30 to 14:00).

“We want to be sensible in this peak Covid period ahead and limit people’s risks,” the school announced under the headline “Helpies reconsiders,” citing “the latest developments,” among other considerations.

He stated that all learning will be presented online starting Wednesday. Additionally, all planned camps and activities have been postponed until further notice.

‘We feel danger’

Visiting the school on Monday, Lesufi, standing next to Helpmekaar director Klaus König, said the school started its teaching activities last week, before Mhaule’s announcement. But, after considering its options, the school made the decision to continue learning online.

“This weekend, I was inundated with reports that there are schools that believe they should go ahead with … reopening,” Lesufi said during a short press conference after his visit.

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“We feel the danger and we feel that we cannot just persuade the public education system, we also need to persuade the private education system.”

“The reasons are simple. They are in the same communities, their parents are going to buy textbooks and school uniforms, they are going to be upstairs and downstairs.

“It is not about the capacity of an institution to handle the virus, it is the movement, because the virus spreads through movement.”

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Lesufi added that he had come to know of Helpmekaar’s plans to reopen through the media and decided to involve the school administration to assess his reasons.

However, König informed Lesufi that the school had revised its schedule since then. “As a leader, you review your own decision,” Lesufi said.

It is not an act of defiance

“The school was already open last week. The reopening was not [an act of] challenge. They had already opened. The decision [to postpone reopening] was late, and when the information reached [the school’s] attention … they reconsidered [it] and they felt they should migrate to online learning. “

Lesufi said the postponement came after the Gauteng Department of Education wrote to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, citing concerns about the province’s influx of students from other provinces after the holidays.

“Hospital beds are full, both in private and public institutions. Many people were dying. The number [of infections] they were increasing. “

Lesufi said that if they allowed 2.5 million students, and by implication of their parents, to return to schools in the province, the health system might not be able to cope.

Lesufi also indicated that he had hired the management of the Curro schools, as it was also reported that they planned to reopen today.

“I spoke with the executive director of Curro schools and they also agreed to retract face-to-face learning. The province is under siege by the Covid-19 virus and we need everyone to do their part,” Lesufi said.

Lesufi also said the province was in the process of asking the department to ensure that the two-week delay is published for the decision to become law.

“We will withdraw for two weeks and monitor the situation; we will wait for the experts to advise us and then we will make an announcement whether we will return in two weeks or not. Our decision will always be based on sound and scientifically backed advice,” he said.

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