Parents fume at school delay as pupils already dropped off at hostels
Parents have expressed their frustration at the basic education ministry’s last-minute U-turn on grade 7 and 12 pupils returning to school on Monday.
On Sunday evening, the office of basic education minister Angie Motshekga announced the postponement of a scheduled media briefing in which she was due to update the nation on the readiness of schools as pupils from the two grades were scheduled to return to school.
Instead, Motshekga’s office issued a statement saying plans to send children back to school had been put on hold. She is expected to hold the briefing later on Monday.
“My child is doing Grade 7. The school is ready in terms of accepting pupils back at school. The issue for me is the miscommunication from the government as it is causing confusion and uncertainty. I don’t know whether I should take the child to school tomorrow,” one parent told TimesLIVE on Sunday.
“The late announcements by the government on a Sunday when school is supposed to start the next day [Monday] shows they are unprepared and are disrespectful towards parents. If there were any consultations by the minister, she should have made an announcement a week before the opening,” she said.
Another parent agreed. She said the uncertainty was “torture” for a child.
“My child has already polished her school shoes, got her uniform ready and her bag packed. She’s excited about going to Grade 8 next year and is excited to go to school. This is really not fair,” the woman said.
Schools have been shut for more than two months, and Motshekga had announced the phased reopening of facilities.
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