Hygiene comes first as Soweto school welcome learners back
“These are the habits we are trying to get them familiar with: washing their hands, wearing their masks, and keeping distance,” a teacher said.
Hygiene and social distancing were the order of the day in Soweto as Lakeview Primary School welcomed back learners for the start of the 2021 academic year.
Before entering the gate, learners and staff were required to wear a mask, hands were sanitised and social distancing was mandatory. The same rules applied inside the school premises as learners were often reminded of the importance of washing their hands.
“The first lesson of the day was hand hygiene,” said Shalati Mahlaule, a Grade-R teacher at the school.
“These are the habits we are trying to get them familiar with: washing their hands, wearing their masks, and keeping distance. It’s an unusual time for everyone, more especially for Grade Rs because they are too young to understand all the reasons behind it.”
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Despite the unfamiliar first day of school, Mahlaule said the learners did not give them any problems.
“Thankfully, there have been no issues with them (learners) today. They are following instructions very well. We do have to routinely remind of the covid rules in place but no, we didn’t have any problems,” she added.
With a spike in Covid-19 cases around the country following the emergence of a new variant of the virus, the Department of Basic Education decided to push back the school reopening date from 27 January to 15 February 2021. From a teacher’s perspective, Mahlaule said she was relieved to get the academic year underway.
“It’s big a relief to see the progress. Since schools closed last year there has been that uncertainty around when exactly we could continue, so I’m very excited to get the academic year going,” she said.
Anela Ngoko, a parent who had accompanied her son to his first day, said she was also relieved that learners were able to return to school.
“I’m happy that the kids can start the year and I hope they will be able to cover. They already missed so much of last year due to covid, so hopefully, this year can be a better year for learners,” said Ngoko.
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