The insisting on sending little children to school by Angie Motshekga is confusing.
Angie Motshekga (Minister of Basic Education) has a plan to send little children to school as South African enters the peak of the Covid 19 virus.
While provinces like Gauteng considering another hard lock-down due to the spiking number of new infections and deaths; the Department of Basic Education is forging ahead with the plan to send little children to school from Monday next week.
Since schools reopening in May, there has been a number of Covid 19 deaths in teachers, learners and school staff.
The DBE officials boast of their plan to reopen schools for lower grades; however those plans have costed lives.
The DBE may win court cases and have their plans approved by their peers in Parliament, but the fact remains that learners and teachers are dying in schools.
Minister Angie and her officials may have monopolized the Basic Education sector so that it suits their narrative, but the reality is that lives will be lost, and no one in the sector will assume any responsibility.
To send Grade R to school at this time of the year, never mind that we are hitting the peak of the virus; it is winter and schools are closed during this period. How humane is it, to send little children out in the cold, to schools who have proven that they are unable to properly follow health protocols?
Angie is winning the political war, while the public loses their beloved teachers and learners.
Corruption driven decisions cannot be ignored.
There are various players in the Basic Education sector with income generating interests. From the Nutrition programs to transportation; these are people who make their living by supplying services to schools. Add to the list of suppliers the new Covid 19 supply chain! How many of these players influence decision-making at the hierarchy of the Basic Education Sector?
The stubborn reopening of schools can only leave assumptions that someone will lose more than just a political point should schools remain closed.
Profit over lives is what South Africa has chosen.
Angie Motshekga is no different.
KZN Department of Education sees the light
DBE’s plan reopen lower grades schools includes the return to school for Grade Rs. Teachers and staff at pre-schools especially in Townships and Rural Areas are old ladies who may suffer from various comorbidities, which means that reopening pre-schools will compromise everyone involved, not that Angie and her officials care. KZN Department of Education issued a statement saying that only grade 6s and grade 11s should return to school next week.
If this does not a sign that Angie and her stakeholders are delusional then the public is duped.
Angie doesn’t care!
Minister Angie does not lose sleep over public concerns, warranted by the loss of lives in schools. She’s untouched by the virus. It’s not real for her. Why would she care?
Parents have a responsibility to speak with one voice. Unions in schools may have tasted the juices presented by Covid 19, so don’t expect much from them. Little children will be out in the cold, at the forefront of the deadly pandemic.
Talking to parents from stable households, they are not sending their children to school. However unstable households lack decision making ability, something that DBE may be using to their advantage.
Then the sheep-factor works for Angie
It will not be nice for other children to see their peers go to school while they remain at home. This becomes a losing battle for parents and end up sending their kids to school.
The confusion and pressure works wonders for the DBE; it forces people to speak with different voices and from different positions in society. The longer the time goes, things start to feel normal again; and safety measures soon forgotten or not observed.
A family with an elderly granny said that they cannot risk their beloved gogo’s life, therefore their children will not attend school. Fortunately this Tembisa family had all the necessary requirements for home learning.
Families in the rural areas are not as fortunate! They cannot make such decisions.
Parents have lost their jobs, income and livelihood, asking them to purchase a device and data for their kid’s education is asking for too much.
These unfortunate positions have divided opinions and have played at the hands of the rigid regime in Basic Education sector!
Welcome to the Angie Boosted Covid-19.