DBE set to decide on scrapping of October school holidays

The Department of Education (DBE) and the provincial education departments are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the potential cancellation of the October school holidays.

School are expected to close from 1 October 11 October for the end of the third term.

However, the DBE has proposed schools continue with their lessons during the spring break, from 4 to 8 October, to make up for time lost.

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This is because schools closed earlier than expected at the end of the second term due to the rising numbers of the Covid-19 infections across South Africa at the time.

All schools reopened on 26 July after President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the country to an adjusted Level 3 lockdown following a month-long Level 4 lockdown.

Meeting

While a number of school governing bodies (SGBs) and teacher unions’ – including the South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU) – opposes the holidays being scrapped, the DBE is yet to make a decision on whether it will go ahead with the proposal.

“DBE is presently in a meeting with stakeholders. Hedcom [Heads of Education Departments Committee] will discuss the matter again tomorrow.

“Let me also point out that both SGBs and teacher unions’ have written to oppose the suggestion of cancelling the October holiday. DBE and PEDs [provincial education departments] will meet tomorrow to discuss the way forward,” DBE spokesperson  Elijah Mhlanga told The Citizen on Tuesday.

No consultation

Meanwhile, SAOU has indicated that the department did not consult them on the new timetable.

“The DBE was confronted as not one of the teacher unions was consulted in any way whatsoever. As can be expected, the teacher unions were not prepared to accept such decisions,” the union said in a statement.

The SAOU said the DBE’s proposal of separating the third and fourth terms by a long weekend – by declaring 23 September as a school holiday – was “absolutely unacceptable”. 

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“The absolute fixation to insist on the normal 200 school days per annum despite the fact that the world is experiencing an extraordinary period as a result of the Covid pandemic makes no sense whatsoever,” the union said.

The union argued that many educators and learners were already “emotionally drained as a result of the continuous stress due to Covid-19, the continuous risk of infections and the pressure to complete the curriculum”.

0.5m physical distancing

The union also slammed the DBE on its proposal to reduce physical distancing in schools.

It emerged last week that the department wanted to approach Cabinet and the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to reduce social distancing in primary schools from 1m to 0.5m.

“0.5m actually implies that social distancing in primary schools is actually superfluous. There must be immutable scientific evidence that the health and lives of younger learners will not be placed at risk in the endeavour to ensure curriculum coverage and that the 0.5m social distance will not place educators on greater risk.”

DBE not deterred by crowded classrooms