The October school holidays will go ahead as normal, according to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
On Sunday, August 29 Motshekga confirmed – during a press briefing – that after consultation with nine MEC’s of education, they will keep the October school holidays in place and not use it to get back lost time suffered due to the pandemic.
It’s been another unsettling year for scholars in South Africa. The July holidays were extended by an additional week after the third wave of infections hit the country.
The department considered canceling the October holidays to make up for lost time but this didn’t sit well with governing bodies and teacher unions. They collectively addressed a letter to the minister stating it would cause conflict since they had already worked extra hours and sometimes even weekends to make up for lost time.
The collective were also aggrieved because they found out about the possible holiday cancelation on social media rather than being informed through the department.
The Governing Body Foundation said: “This proposal clearly indicates the absolute disconnect between the decision-makers and those at the coalface. When you consider the amount of school time missed due to rotation and other disruptions, five days will make little or no difference to the pupils.”
During her media briefing, Motshekga said that due to time lost in July, “we would claw back the time by looking at other measures and one of the measures was that we don’t have the October holidays”.
“But after consultations, it was quite clear and for very valid reasons that we have to keep the calendar as it stands. We wish to really say we had to finally agree and concede as MECs that we should keep the calendar as it stands which means we won’t be using the October holidays to claw back time.”
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