By: Kaya 959 News
The EFF has given the Department of Basic Education one week or shut schools or else. Speaking during a media briefing at the party’s offices yesterday ((THURS)), EFF Commander in Chief Julius Malema, warned that if the Minister of Basic Education did not close schools, the party would take matters into its own hands.
“Schools must close and they must close with immediate effect because our children are going to die. We give the Minister seven days to close schools. Failure to do so, we’ll have to close schools ourselve as the EFF,” he said.
Malema said it was very painful to have lost elderly people in the first and second waves.
“Imagine now when we have to bury kids,” he said.
[MUST WATCH]: The EFF calls for the schools to close with immediate effect.
We give the Minister of education 7 days to close schools, failing which, the EFF will be left with no choice but to close the schools. #EFFPresser pic.twitter.com/gUewsRgEA4
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) June 10, 2021
In May, the department announced that learners in Grades R to 7 will return to normal school attendance from next month. The directive issued by Minister Angie Motshekga will see thousands of children head back to school from July 26.
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The department noted that in terms of the directions, primary school learners must return to the daily attendance and traditional timetabling model.
“This provided that the risk adjusted differentiated strategy is implemented. Based on the risk adjusted differentiated strategy, schools for learners with special education needs (Grades R to 12) must also return to the daily attendance and traditional timetabling model from 26 July 2021,” the DBE said.
Various sectors have raised concerns over the vaccinations of teachers ahead of July 26.
The DA’s Baxolile Nodada said the “return to normal” will be significantly accelerated by the rapid vaccination of our teachers.
Nodada said the disruption of basic education’s consequences will have far-reaching consequences for millions of children, long after the pandemic has ended, and the department must do everything necessary to ensure children are getting the full access they require to education.
“The urgent vaccination of all teachers along with other frontline workers should be a top priority for both the Departments of Basic Education and Health,” Nodada said.
The IFP’s Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa said the third wave of Covid-19 is here and could potentially be more deadly than the second wave if the government continues to delay vaccination rollout.
“With new infections rising rapidly, the country needs to redouble the effort to vaccinate as many people as possible,” she said.
Motshekga said she supported the call for teachers to be vaccinated.
She said there were plans in place to ensure that teachers will be vaccinated.
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Picture: EFF Twitter
