South African Minister Clarifies Key Decisions as Schools Reopen

Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has said that the arrangements that meant to protect the school sector from Covid-19 infection will remain in place, as schools in inland provinces open their doors to learners. Schools in the coastal provinces of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will reopen on January 19, 2022.

The situation will remain the same with regards to schooling, especially rotational time-tabling where it was applicable when schools closed in 2021.

Motshekga also sought to clarify the pass requirmeents for the National Senior Certificate. "There is information we have made available in which we explain the pass requirements. All that needs to be said is that 30% is not a pass mark in this country. If a candidate gets an aggregate of 30% in all subjects written, the candidate will surely fail," she said.

Motshekga went on to say that the sector is working hard to address infrastructure challenges at public schools.

"Under the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative programme, we have completed 286 complete new schools, replacing old schools constructed of inappropriate materials. We completed water supply projects at 1,156 schools and electricity supply at 373 schools," Motshekga said.