Only 37% of public schools that responded to a survey are ready to reopen on February 15, and only 47% are confident of complying with Covid-19 protocols.
These are among the shocking findings of the National School Readiness Survey conducted by the five teacher unions.
A total of 7,440 responses were received from principals, which equates to 32.4% of schools nationally.
Among the concerns raised by principals were:
- a lack of electricity and water in schools;
- movement of children in and out of high infection rate areas with little control;
- lack of PPE [personal protective equipment] for pupils and teachers;
- lack of space in schools to maintain effective social distancing;
- curriculum coverage risk with not opening schools coupled with infection risk of opening;
- lack of deep cleaning resources; and
- concerns about the intake of new grade R and 1 pupils and their ability to adapt to school, including parents’ anxiety levels.
The purpose of the survey was to establish principals’ perceptions about key planning data, including readiness to open schools, so the necessary steps can be taken to support them for reopening.
Nationally, 40% of schools indicated they did not have enough hand and surface sanitisers and 20% of schools said they did not have enough masks.
“In eight provinces, fewer than 26% of schools reported not having enough masks and in the ninth province 43% of schools reported having enough masks.”
A huge concern was that in eight provinces more than 60% of schools responsible for procuring Covid-19 supplies don’t have the money to buy them.
“In three of these provinces, more than 80% of principals report not having the necessary funds.”
In three provinces, more than 80% of principals report not having the necessary funds.
In the Western Cape, principals reported high levels of readiness “with the exception of masks and sufficient school funds”.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, principals report low levels of readiness in all categories,” the report states.
Another alarming finding is that of the schools surveyed, only 58% indicated they had completed most of the trimmed curriculum for most subjects in most grades last year.
“The system has not yet worked out how to support learning at home on the days/weeks when pupils are not at school. More needs to be done to ensure material is available for learning at home,” says to the report.
The majority of pupils in 32% of the schools surveyed “struggled to maintain focus and discipline because of interrupted routines”.
The report states that presentations by the department of basic education, as well as the unions’ survey, indicated there is a growing risk of pupils dropping out “as a consequence of growing disengagement during the Covid-19 pandemic”.
“At least 21% of schools nationally indicated they had lost touch with between 6% and 10% of pupils during 2020 because of difficulties or anxieties associated with Covid-19.”
According to the survey, 23% of schools nationally indicated that between 6% and 10% of pupils may not return to school this year.
Basil Manuel, executive director of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa), said the survey revealed “shocking inefficiences” in the department as a whole.
“While this may not be the most scientific survey, it does indicate there are concerns from principals and, more especially, there are big gaps in so far as keeping children and teachers safe.”
He said the purpose of doing the survey this early in the year was also “so we have time to say fix these things instead of getting to the day of opening and then we are butting heads”.
The survey was conducted on January 18.
“This is a timely reminder to the department of the task at hand.”
Manuel confirmed the department was given a copy of the survey’s results, adding: “They will obviously use it as they see fit but we hope they see it for what it is.
“The results of the survey gives us a very clear indication of the concerns of principals and the reality on the ground of the great deficits that exist.”
