Basic Education minister, Angie Motshekga, said that there are no plans to scrap the October school holidays as was previously discussed, however the loss of teaching time remains a concern.
Speaking to parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education on Tuesday (24 August), Motshekga said that previous communication from the department was that teaching time had been lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic and that a plan should be made to recover this lost time. However, she stated that this would be found “within the remaining days” and not by scrapping holidays.
Earlier in August, basic education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga said that the department was holding conversations with partners to cancel the October holiday, giving additional teaching time between 4-8 October however basic education director-general, Mathanzima Mweli, said that this was only a recommendation and that a final decision concerning the matter has not yet been made.
Several teachers unions had opposed the plan to scrap the October holidays to make up for the lost teaching time.
The SA Onderwysers Unie (SAOU) said that it received communication from the DBE that the following changes would take place:
- That the five days from 4 to 8 October 2021 must be utilised to compensate for the lost school days;
- The third and fourth terms will be separated by a long weekend by declaring 23 September 2021 as a school holiday.
The SAOU said that: “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 DA also criticized the recommendation and said the department should be looking for other ways to catch up on lost time.
It said that, “While it is important to implement strategies to catch up on lost time, the department cannot simply suspend learners’ holidays. Holidays play a crucial role in allowing learners to take much-needed time off, which is crucial to ensuring good mental health and will aid the learner in their preparation for the following term to come. Instead of once again disrupting the academic year and putting learners and teachers of risk of burnout, the DBE should look at the importance of finding innovative ways to catch up on lost time.”
Sources: BusinessTech
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