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Public schools have been given the green light to reopen from February 15.

This comes after the department of basic education published the government gazette on Friday.

Private schools will reopen two weeks earlier, on February 1.

According to basic education minister Angie Motshekga, all public schools must be reopened as follows:

• The principal, the school management team, including education assistants and general assistants, and non-teaching staff must return to school on January 25.
• All teachers must return to school on February 1.
• All pupils must return to school on February 15.

She said independent schools may not open earlier than the two-week period regulated in the gazette.

“Independent schools must delay the date for the reopening of schools for pupils to return to school for a period of two weeks from the date of the pronouncement of the minister  on January 15. Independent schools may not open earlier than the two-week period,” the gazette reads.

However, trade union Solidarity said Motshekga has no say about the dates on which independent schools should open or close.

It issued a lawyer’s letter to the department questioning the legality of the department’s directives on independent schools’ opening dates.

Solidarity said the issuing of the directives by the department were “invalid” and called for the government to “amend the directives accordingly and publish such in the government gazette by no later than 4pm on January 25".

“The pandemic is going to last for a long time and an unlawful decision now may set a precedent for abuse of power in the future,” said Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann.

“The minister is acting outside the powers conferred on her. Announcing that independent schools must wait another week before they may reopen, or that those that have already opened have to close again, is unlawful. A pandemic does not justify wrongful decisions.

“Many schools that can open are being punished simply because other schools that do not comply with protocols are not ready yet. Instead of striving to bring other schools up to standard and limit the effect of closures, the minister is spreading the damage as widely as possible.”