DBE must first deal with current Covid-19 outbreak at schools – Teacher union

Johannesburg – Teacher Unions have once again lambasted the Department of Basic Education (DBE)’s phased reopening of schools and have called on the department to deal with the outbreak before welcoming more pupils.

As of next week, additional grades are expected to resume the academic year despite the soaring number of infections across schools in the country.

In a briefing with the Parliament’s Education Committee on Tuesday, the department announced that there were 775 schools affected by Covid-19.

At least 523 pupils have tested positive while 1,169 staff members have also contracted the virus.

SADTU’s Mugwena Maluleke said that with the growing infections in the school community, the next phase of the department’s plan must be reconsidered.