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UPDATED, via TimesLIVE:

The department of basic education appeared to backtrack on Wednesday from the announcement that schools would partially reopen for certain pupils next week.

“We can’t say we are presenting a cast-in-stone plan. Yesterday, after presenting to the social cluster, they indicated that the date of May 6 is not realistic and we need to change it.

“In the presentation that I have now, that date is changed,” said basic education deputy minister Reginah Mhaule on Wednesday.

This came just more than an hour after the department’s director-general Mathanzima Mweli told MPs that schools would partially reopen on May 6 for Grade 12 and Grade 7 pupils…

“When this plan is approved, then we are going to school; on the 18th our children are going to school,” she said without elaborating on the new date.

Read that full report here.

Here is the story as it originally appeared, with the information given by the department’s director-general Mathanzima Mweli, which is now subject to change…

The end is in sight for a number of parents who have been juggling teaching, parenting, and careers over the past couple of weeks.

As we head into alert level 4, the Department of Basic Education has rolled out its plan for reopening schools from next week.

While not everyone will be returning to brick and mortar education immediately (or at all, if they’ve made the switch to online schooling), this is the first step towards getting the school year back on track, especially for higher grades.

SowetanLIVE reports:

Grades 7 and 12 are expected to be back at school on Wednesday May 6. The department’s director-general Mathanzima Mweli said screening of pupils and educators will be done at the re-opening of schools.

Schools will be opened gradually with strict physical distancing and hygiene protocols in place.

Here’s the timeline as outlined in today’s briefing:

• Grade 7 and Grade 12 – May 6
• Grade 6 and Grade 11 – May 20
• Grade 5 and Grade 10 – June 3
• Grade 4 and Grade 9 – June 17
• Grade 3 and Grade 8 – July 1
• Grade 1 and Grade 2 – July 8

Grade R will only be back to finger painting on July 15.

A basic essential hygiene and sanitation package has been put together for schools, along with a set of strict guidelines that staff and students have to adhere to at all times.

“Teachers and pupils will have to sanitise hands before entering the classroom. The movement of learners in classes will be limited and there will be no clustering of desks in the classroom. The physical distance in the classroom will include not more than two learners sharing desks. Both teachers and learners are expected to wear masks at all times,” Director-General Hubert Mathanzima Mweli said.

Students and teachers will also be prohibited from hugging, handshaking, or direct contact of any kind. There will be no mass events like sports, choir practices, or festivals, and classrooms are to be sanitised before each school day.

The new proposed term calendar will look like this:

• Term 2 – May 6 to July 26
• Term 3 –  August 3 to September 23
• Term 4 –  September 28 to December 9

As for exams, MyBroadband breaks it down:

• The May/June Exams for the National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) will be combined with the October/November Exams and rescheduled for November/December.
• Marking of examination scripts will run up to the end of December 2020.
• Moderation, standardisation, and release of the results will be moved to mid/end of January 2021.
• School Based Assessment will have to be calculated without the May/June exams.
• Grade 12s will still write preparatory examinations in September.
• The November/December examination time table will have to be amended accordingly.

It’s important to remember that during a pandemic, things can change at a moment’s notice. Make sure to prepare your kids for attending school with the new rules in place.

For now, it looks like education is a go.

[source:sowetanlive&mybroadband]