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Schools Not Ready To Reopen, Says SADTU As Government Prepares To Ease Lockdown

Schools Not Ready To Reopen, Says SADTU As Government Prepares To Ease Lockdown

As government prepares to ease some lockdown regulations from Friday, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) was adamant schools were not ready to reopen.

The union and many parents are worried about health and safety measures amid reports that pupils in some grades will be allowed to go back to school from next week.

It’s been an anxious wait for parents and unions on when and exactly how government plans to reopen schools in the country, as some industries would be allowed to operate when level 4 lockdown regulations kick in on Friday.

With overcrowding, infrastructure and sanitation problems in many schools in South Africa, Sadtu’s Nomusa Cembi said they needed assurance from government that these issues would be addressed.

“And we should be assured that there would be proper facilitations at our schools.”

She said as things currently stood, many schools were not ready for any kind of activity during the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to a draft plan that has been making the rounds, government allegedly plans to implement a phased approach, that may see matrics and grades 7s return to school from next week.

However, education officials have not been able to confirm this, saying a planned briefing would provide South Africans with more clarity.

EWN

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