Johannesburg – The Department of Basic Education has received massive backlash for hiritng celebrities to take part in its online learning platform during the national lockdown.
The department’s book club initiative was joined by personalities such as Somizi Mhlongo, Pearl Thusi, and DJ Sbu among others. They would be reading e-learning material to pupils.
The public has slammed this move by the department, claiming that it failed to provide qualified tutors with education qualifications.
“It shows that they think being a teacher is really easy, it’s not that simple. Already we are struggling to find a way to teach our learners online and a lot of learners don’t have the resources to access such platform,” said Grace Ngele, a primary school teacher.
She relayed that teachers across the country were undermined.
“Famous faces encouraging South Africans to read should not be a cause for any negative reaction. Anyone should be allowed to promote reading. We encourage all South Africans to get involved in matters of education. Society needs to do all that it can to make sure that learners remain engaged, even during the lockdown,” said Elijah Mhlanga, DBE spokesperson.
Leave a Reply