Kaya News Reporter
Cabinet has welcomed the decision for all public schools in South Africa to end the rotational learning structure.
The decision comes after a special Cabinet meeting on Monday, 31 January where Cabinet adjusted the Alert Level 1 Covid-19 regulations.
This follows meetings with the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) which indicated that the country has passed the 4th-wave.
The following changes were approved with immediate effect:
- Those who test positive with no symptoms do not have to isolate.
- If you test positive with symptoms, the isolation period has been reduced from 10 to 7 days.
- Contacts do not have to isolate unless they develop symptoms.
The amendments were made in line with the number of people with immunity to Covid-19 which has increased significantly.
All public primary, secondary and special needs schools will now return to daily attendance. The regulatory provision for a 1 meter social distancing between learners now falls away.
According to Cabinet, the Ministers of Health and Basic Education will issue directives on the end to rotational learning and the new approach.
Meanwhile, the DBE is concerned that the return to school could see a marked increase in the number of dropouts. New data shows that children are falling behind with the curriculum that was covered before Covid-19 hit.
Research shows that Gr 3 and 4 learners who are learning in their home language are approximately 18-months behind children their age pre-pandemic.
The concern now is whether the children will be able to catch up. This could also result in more learners dropping out of school.
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