Minister Angie Motshekga playing hardball with the lives of learners and teachers.
Minister of Basic Education Ms Angie Motshekga will not let this year go without learners and teachers in classrooms teaching. Under normal circumstances that is appluadable; however there is nothing normal about what the world is battling at the moment.
Both Ministers of Higher Education Dr. Blade Nzimande and Basic Education Minister Ms Angie Motshekga held a press conference with an aim to outline their plans regarding 2020 school calendar.
Minister of Higher Education made it very clear that they cannot take any risks in opening higher education institutions at this time. However plans are in place to ensuring that learning continues via remote learning. In his address Dr. Nzimande outlined efforts to reach students in rural areas to present them with internet data as well as learning devices.
Impressively there will be procurement for delivering these devices to students. Dr. Blade Nzimande made it clear that SMMEs will be given preference for this project.
His counterpart struggled her way through the proposed plan!
In her address Minister of Basic Education Ms Angie Motshekga kept defending herself, saying that she has never suggested that schools open on the 6th of May. She made it clear that only the Basic Education sector will open on Monday the 4th of May and gradually followed by other officials; teachers will open on the 18th of May and Grade 7s & 12s to open on the 1st of June.
According to Minister Angie Motshekga this is just a proposal for now. She says schools that have water and toilet issues will not be allowed to open (eyes roll erybody).
- Every school will be disinfected and cleaned everyday
- Teachers and learners will be provided with sanitizers
- Department of transport will be consulted with regards to transportation of learners
Minister Angie Motshekga is misinformed on few things.
This Department has struggled to service schools under normal circumstances; which led to the loss of trust between the public and the Department. This is definitely not the appropriate time to win that trust back!
During her address to the media the Minister of Basic Education did not “give us” the sense that she has everything under control.
Pressure to perform?
The Minister faces pressure to deliver. But her biggest pressure is to save lives more than the school year.
She bragged about how HIV was handled and said that the same measures used to handle HIV/Aids (yes hold your heads on this one) will be used to handle the Virus. Experts know very little about this virus; the Minister was reckless to even make that comparison. Never mind the millions of people who died and still dying of Aids.
Navigating the school year under her oversight will lead to many families losing their loved ones.
Egos must fall
Minister Angie Motshekga must not allow her ego to cloud her judgement. The plan may be good on paper according to them as officials; will the implementation on the ground match the officials enthusiasm to gradually open schools? We all know the answer to that.
Are we prepared to experiment with with people’s lives? Is education more important than life?
Hold on everyone, the Minister and her crew is ready to crash land the 2020 school year! Good luck.