Education department dismisses fake news about school closures

The department of basic education dismissed as fake news a document purporting to be a circular saying that schools would close for four weeks from Monday.

UPDATE: Government has confirmed that all schools will be closed from Wednesday, 18 March, and will remain closed until after the Easter Weekend.

“South Africans must ignore the misleading document as it was not issued by the department. It is not a formal circular. The signature of the director-general was lifted from the guidelines sent out to schools earlier this week.”

The fake circular.

“The fraudsters who created the document must face the full might of the law for causing confusion leading to the mass hysteria,” said department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga.

The department appealed to South Africans to always check the source of documents and information they received before sharing it further.

“The fake news is hurting the country’s efforts at managing the coronavirus pandemic, which the government is seized with at the moment.”

(Edited by Charles Cilliers)

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