Too early for more pupils to return — governing bodies

Nelson Mandela Bay schools have expressed their concern and anxiety ahead of the expected influx of pupils returning to classes next week.

School governing bodies (SGBs) in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas held emergency meetings on Tuesday to discuss several issues and the way forward.

During the meeting, an unanimous decision was taken to picket on Thursday morning outside Papenkuil Primary School in Gelvandale.

The SGB chair from Sapphire Road Primary School in Booysen Park, Simpiwe Waka, said the SGBs from most of the schools in the northern areas would use the picket to express their dismay with the decision by the  department of education for grades R, 1,  2, 3, 6, 10 and 11 to return to classes on Monday.

SGB members said they opted to picket to raise their concerns themselves as they believed they had not been correctly represented in deliberations on the back-to-school regulations,  and that their issues had not been truly reflected by their unions.

Waka said the department had already struggled to fully prepare and equip schools to welcome grade 7s, adding that it was too early for more pupils to return.

“We have been raising concerns regarding the lack of personal protective gear and the increased number of infections with our education development officer, but they seem to undermine us.

“Even now they [the department] are telling the community that children are returning to school on Monday,  now we are not ready nor fully equipped for that,” Waka said.

He said the matter was discussed in-depth at the meeting on Tuesday and it was concluded that the protest was necessary.

“We had 60% of out grade 7s return to [Sapphire] school, and I can tell you now, of that at least 35% of them are still going to school regularly.

“The rest of the pupils have stopped coming due to health concerns.

“It is winter season, and it is common knowledge that the coronavirus spreads rapidly in cold weather,” Waka said.

He said while the school had a teaching component of 36, only 27 returned to school and since then six had gone into isolation due to fear of having come in contact with a Covid-19 patient.

“Now tell me where will the school get teachers to teach the rest of the pupils?” he asked.

On Wednesday afternoon, the school management of Papenkuil Primary shared a notice on Facebook asking parents to support the school and join the picket.

Some of the issues cited by the school included 11 teachers with comorbidities, adding that should grades R, 1, 2, 3, and 6 return, the school would have a teacher shortage.

Some of the other school SGBs that will take  part in the picket are from Parkside Primary, Rufane Donkin Primary, Gelvanpark Primary, Sanctor, Bayview, Cedarberg Primary, Soutpan and Helenvale Primary.

Laurence Mostert, former SGB chair of the western areas of Uitenhage, said Uitenhage SGBs would also be meeting on Thursday morning to discuss similar concerns.

Numerous attempts to contact provincial education superintendent-general Themba Kojana on Wednesday proved unsuccessful.

Text messages, calls and WhatsApps sent to provincial spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani on Wednesday morning and again in the afternoon went unanswered.