Gaum said in that process they would be involving other stakeholders from civil society who formed part of their Covid-19 committee in terms of the legislation. He said they would be visiting schools to ensure that crucial infrastructure such as access to water and sanitation, personal protective equipment, cleaning and sterilisation, as well as physical distancing were in place and provided for.
“The most important factor is to ensure the safety of the teachers and the learners.
"We will not be able to visit all schools but we will make sure that we visit schools from all quintiles and various districts.”

With South Africa having approximately 25000 schools, the commission will be using its provincial offices and stakeholders to assess a sample of schools in each province and present and discuss its findings with the department.
Gaum said in instances where they picked up problems and potential violations, they would take the matter up with the respective provincial departments and the national department.
“While the right to a basic education is a very important right, it can’t take the space of the right to health. That is why our monitoring process will check the readiness to receive learners and staff.”

As it stood, Gaum said, they were in contact with the minister and MECs on some of the issues they wanted clarity on.
He said at the moment, and with Covid-19 reported to be around for some time, they could not specify a cut-off time for the monitoring process. As of June 1 schools are to reopen in a phased manner starting off with Grades 7 and 12.
The restart of learners in other grades will be announced later.

Source: ANA