The country’s Grade 7 and 12 learners and teachers are preparing to go back to school from Monday, June 1, while other grades will follow in the coming months as part of the phased return to classroom education.
The Basic Education Department has released the finalised academic calendar for the rest of 2020, wherein Grades R, 3, 6, 10 and 11 and their respective teachers will go back to school from July 6.
The rest of the learners, Grades 4, 5, 8 and 9 will resume classroom learning from 3 August. There is no mention in the gazette about return dates for Grades 1 and 2 yet.
The May-June matric exams will now be administered between November and December until further notice.
In the gazette, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says that all schools will have to comply with the health and safety standards set out by the Health Department and those who do not, will not be allowed to open.
Parents who choose not to send their children to school, may apply to the Head of Department, who will assess each case and may exempt a learner from class-based education “if it is in the best interest of the learner”, the gazette states.
Furthermore, all schools must make sufficient hand sanitiser as well as hand washing facilities available, and supply each educator with at least two cloth masks, among other health regulations. All learners will be required to wear their own face masks.
Read the full gazette here.
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