Schools ask state for help to mitigate Covid-19 fallout

The National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations (Naisa) said that, while it supported the basic education department’s call for public and private schools to not open prematurely, it would appreciate some help when the time to reopen arrived.

On Thursday, basic education director-general Hubert Mweli said that, “in some schools, teachers have already been reporting for duty, and parents’ meetings have been held where plans were announced” to have pupils back this month.

“The premature reopening of schools is not permitted as the department is still finalising Covid-19 coronavirus school compliance protocols,” he said.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga last week announced a gradual return to work, with senior officials returning from May 4, school management teams on May 11, teachers on May 18 and a proposed date of June 1 for pupils in grades 7 and 12.

Naisa chairperson Mandla Mthembu said the body was not aware of any independent schools within its nine associations opening prematurely, and that they were “adhering to the regulations and ensuring that safety comes first”.

He added that the expenses that would come with the reopening of schools were not budgeted for and that they needed a helping hand.

“Since the lockdown began, online learning has been the flavour of the season, but not everyone has the necessary gadgets to access digital platforms. For those who do, it won’t be fair for parents to [have to] choose between buying data and buying food.

“It would also not be practical for independent schools to reopen early, as most of them are not ready to receive pupils. Only 30% of parents have been able to pay fees, so we are concerned about being ready to welcome back pupils when the time comes.

“Government will not be providing independent schools with personal protective equipment, meaning that these schools will have to buy their own.

“We’re requesting provincial education departments to release funds for independent schools that are subsidised by government a bit earlier. It has been done in the Western Cape and we’ve had good engagements with director-general Mweli. We hope this continues in other provinces,” Mthembu told City Press.

Basic education spokesperson Elias Mawela said that struggling independent schools needed to formally approach the department and “provide a list of

schools” because the department had sponsors that “may be able to provide relief”. He added that these schools also needed to consider applying for support from the Solidarity Fund.

However, Mthembu said Naisa’s application to the Solidarity Fund had been declined.

“We are sympathetic to the fact that the fund may be overstretched. Our application was declined, but the response from the fund was not hostile. A lot of entities require assistance. But it is difficult to say what will happen if we do not receive assistance.

“We will have to analyse the extent of the damage when pupils go back. But we need to remember that, if private schools close, pupils would need to be absorbed into the public schooling system,” he said.

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