IN QUOTES | Angie Motshekga says teacher vaccinations will continue as school holidays are brought forward

The vaccination of teachers will continue even though the school holidays have been brought forward. This is according to basic education minister Angie Motshekga who on Monday gave an update on the sector's response to Covid-19.

The minister visited the Seemahale Secondary School in Botshabelo, Free State, during an oversight visit to monitor the vaccination of teachers.

Motshekga said while vaccination for teachers is not mandatory, those who choose not to get the jab will not be exempt from reporting for duty. 

Here are five important quotes from the minister: 

School closures 

“Teaching will stop on Wednesday. We will use Thursday and Friday for teachers and managers to close the schools properly. Some of our learners come from different provinces. We can't tell parents overnight to come and pick up their children [overnight]. That's why we needed the two days to prepare for orderly closure.” 

Cancel residential camps 

“We agreed that the support programmes we normally have for grade 11s and 12s should continue under strict condition of compliance with the Covid-19 health and safety protocols. Unfortunately, some of these camps are residential camps and we're requesting provinces to cancel residential camps so they don't become superspreaders.”

Feeding schemes

“The necessary arrangements must be made to provide [meals] to those learners who are beneficiaries of the national school feeding programme.”

Vaccinations must continue

“The announcement that schools close on Friday does not mean that schools close on Friday. Teachers should come as scheduled ... We don't want to continue with vaccinations next term. We want to be done with vaccinations by Wednesday next week.”

Changes in the schooling programme

“We agreed as a sector that rather than shut the whole system we would have a case by case situation where [we close schools that are affected]. But with the president's announcement then we are shutting the entire sector because we operate within the framework of the country.”