Motherwell parents shut down Imbasa Primary School

Parents at Imbasa Primary School in Motherwell protested against the opening of the school on Monday morning, saying two teachers had tested positive for Covid-19 last week.

Among their main concerns was that the school had to fork out money for fumigation from its nutrition budget and the safety of the grade 7 pupils who were taught by the teachers thought to have tested positive.

School governing body chair Lindisa Zicwele said the school could not afford to pay for fumigation each time there was a new case of Covid-19.

“The parents’ number one concern is what has been done to ensure the wellbeing of the grade 7 pupils who were being taught by the teachers who have now tested positive.

“The department [of education] has neither organised nor sent any communication to have those learners tested.

“When schools were ordered to reopen in June, we [the school] had to take money out of the school’s budget to fumigate the school before grade 7 learners returned.

“We waited from the department of education until we gave up. They eventually said schools should organise for fumigation with their own budgets.

“Schools cannot afford that,” Zicwele said.

Zicwele said the parents’ frustrations were understandable as Motherwell was one of the Covid-19 hotspots in the Bay.

Some parents called for the department of education to forfeit the remainder of the school year and focus on when it was safer for children to return to school.

SGB member Sizwe Madubela said president Cyril Ramaphosa should make the call that all schools close until such time as they were safer.

“People, teachers and children are dying in Motherwell.

“We urge the government to close schools until it is [safer].

“They expect us to open schools while they have not opened parliament and are [incognisant of] the reality of poor communities.

“It would also makes no sense to expect children to home school when some of us cannot afford the internet.

“We as parents are willing to let our children repeat the same grade next year rather than let them die,” Madubela said.

Questions sent to the department of education had not been answered by the time of publication.