Minister of Education Archives

Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga has published a new gazette which will allow for the resumption of some sports at South African schools.

The directive states that the following activities are permitted to resume, subject to social distancing, hygiene and safety measures and without spectators:

Non-contact sport training;
Inter-school non-contact sport matches;
Non-contact sport-related activities;
Arts and culture school-based activities in schools.

The number of persons in the sporting venues, change rooms or training area, at any given time, must not be more than 50% of the capacity of the venue with persons observing the social distancing requirements.

In addition, schools that compete in inter-school format must adhere to the limitation of:

250 persons or fewer, in the case of an indoor activity; and
500 or fewer, in the case of an outdoor activity;
Provided that no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue is used with persons observing the social distancing requirements.

Other regulations include the wearing of face masks expect when playing, the provision of hand sanitisers and the keeping of a register for all participants.

Social distancing rules in classrooms

The resumption of sports comes after Motshekga said that her department will make further changes to the country’s schools as it continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

Motshekga told the SABC that key among these changes will be a review of the social distancing rules in classrooms.

The minister indicated that the current ‘rotation system’, where students alternate days at school, meant that too much learning time was being lost.

Instead, her department is looking at other measures, such as body screens, to get more children into classrooms safely.

“We are looking also at other measures. Other big schools for instance are using body screens not distancing because physical distancing is very expensive for us because it means we have to cut classes in half,” she said.

Motshekga said that schools had to cut out some parts of the curriculum because of the reduced contact time.

To make up for the teaching time lost to the coronavirus lockdown, the department has already trimmed the curriculum nationally. Parts of the 2020 curriculum will be carried over into 2021.

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The Department of Basic Education has published a new directive outlining the return plan for students after a government-mandated break.

South Africa’s public schools began the four-week break from physical teaching from 27 July amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

While some students are due to return before this four-week break concludes, a number of grades have not returned to school since the introduction of restrictions in mid-March.

The latest directive outlines the returns process as follows:

Week 1 (27 – 31 July 2020)

The principal and the school management team will determine the staffing requirements to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements and to assist with the distribution of learning material and the roll-out of the daily school feeding programme;

The principal and the school management team must be on duty to make arrangements for the receipt of the learners anticipated in the weeks ahead;

Schools will remain open for feeding of qualifying learners in terms of the National School Nutrition Programme.

Week 2 (3 – 7 August 2020)

Grade 12 and Year 4 learners at schools of skill will return to school on 3 August 2020;

Grade 12 and Year 4 schools of skill teachers and support staff will return to school on 3 August 2020;

The principal and the school management team (as required) will be in attendance at school;

Officials will return to school on 3 August 2020, to assist in ensuring compliance with the health, safety and social distancing requirements and to assist in the distribution of learning material and the roll-out of the daily school feeding programme for all qualifying learners.

Week 3 (11–14 August 2020)

Grade 7 learners will return to school on 11 August 2020;

Grade 7 officials and teacher support staff will return to school on 11 August 2020;

The principal and the school management team will be in attendance at school;

Officials, who are at school, will assist in ensuring compliance with the health, safety and social distancing requirements and to assist in the distribution of learning material and the roll-out of the daily school feeding programme for all qualifying learners.

Week 4 (17– 21 August 2020)

All officials will report for duty on 17 August 2020 to prepare for the return of learners in the remaining grades;

Grade 7; Grade 12; and schools of skill: Year 4 learners and officials will already be at school;

Officials who are already at school will assist in ensuring compliance with the health, safety and social distancing requirements and to assist in the distribution of learning material and the roll-out of the daily school feeding programme for all qualifying learners.

Week 5 (24 August 2020)

The following learners will return to school on 24 August 2020:

Grade R; Grade 1; Grade 2; Grade 3; Grade 4; and Grade 6;

Grade 9; Grade 10; and Grade 11;

Schools of skill: Year 1; Year 2; and Year 3;

Schools with Learners with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disabilities (LSPID): Year 1; Year 2; and Year 3;

Schools for Learners with Severe Intellectual Disabilities (“SID”): Grade R; Grade 1; Grade 2; Grade 3; and final year ;

Schools with autistic learners: Junior group (below 13 years); Senior Group (13 years and above); and final year;

The schools must ensure compliance with the health, safety and social distancing requirements in accommodating this group of learners.

Week 6 (31 August 2020)

Learners in the following grades or schools will return to school on 31 August 2020:

Grade 5 and Grade 8;

Schools for Learners with Severe Intellectual Disabilities (SID): Grade 4 and Grade 5

Students not returning to school

The directive also provides for students that will not be returning to school during this period.

It states that a parent, caregiver or a designated family member may choose not to send a learner to school for reasons that may include:

Any medical condition of the learner, including comorbidities;

Anxiety and fear related to Covid-19, concern for family members that are over the age of 60 or concern for family members with comorbidities;

A preference for the learner receiving learning and teaching instruction through the online or virtual platforms provided by an independent institution which is not related to the school that the child is registered at;

A preference for the learner receiving learning and teaching instruction through the online or virtual platforms provided by the school;

An application for home education and deregistration of a learner from the school.

In these cases, a parent or caregiver are required to fill out an application form and send it to the Head of Department.

The required form, as well as the application process, are outlined in more detail in the gazette below.

Updated calendar

While it does not form part of the official directive, the Department of Basic Education has also published the new calendar for the rest of the 2020 school year, which has been structured so that the academic year won’t push into 2021.

In terms of the new calendar, there are now 163 actual school days for teachers, and 156 for learners.

The department said that the school year will complete on 15 December 2020 for grades R to 11, and will not be carried over into 2021.

A break will be required to separate the third and fourth terms, so a small holiday will take place between 26 and 30 October.

These are the remaining terms:

Term 3: 24 August – 23 October
Term 4: 2 November – 15 December

Matric exams will also be concluded by 15 December, the department said, with marking expected to be done by 22 January 2021, and the results released on 23 February 2021.

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

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Tag Archive for: Minister of Education

New Lock-down Rules for South African Schools