While this is applicable across all public schools in the country, different grades will have different periods of closure: grade 12 learners will have the shortest break, at one week, expected to return on 3 August. Grade 7 learners, meanwhile, will have a two week break, expected back at school on 10 August.
The move to close schools follows pressure from teacher unions, which have pushed for the academic year to be cancelled. The position comes amid a rapid number of Covid-19 infections, which the unions say puts educators and learners at risk.
However, this view has been criticised by the Human Rights Commission, among others, who say that the move has no grounds in science, and argue that the closures will have a far greater negative effect on children, who will now fall behind in learning, and be disadvantaged to those who are attending private schools.
Speaking to 702 on Friday, Department of Basic Education director general Mathanzima Mweli explained the government’s position.
He said that “it was a delicate and difficult balancing act that government had to make and it was based on an extensive consultation process”, where government tried to listen to bids and presentations from everyone who has a stake in the matter.
He rejected the notion that the government is cowing to unions. He also noted that while previous messaging from the department was that there was no concerning level of infection in schools, where community infections are rapidly increasing, this will begin to reflect in schools.
“Schools are the closest institutions to communities, when infections are increasing in communities, they are likely to have a spill-over effect in schools,” he said.
He said that the news and discussions around the rate of infection is having a psychological impact on children. The decision to close schools for four weeks will give them a psychological break, Mweli said.
“If someone in your family gets infected with Covid-19, it impacts you psychologically and emotionally. We’re seeing that in schools – increased psychological stress,” he said.
On the shorter breaks for matriculants and grade 7s, he said that many variables had to be considered: matrics also need a break, and one week was determined to be enough to ensure they can get emotional and psychological support.
On the gap now created between public schools and private schools, Mweli said that private schools have just returned from a two week break, something that aided in making of the government’s latest decision.
The South African Human Rights Commission, meanwhile, said that learners in public schools will have lost out on 100 days of education by the time schools re-open on 24 August, effectively half the school year.
However, Mweli stressed that the four week break isn’t a holiday, with learners returning to digital and remote learning already in place during full lockdown.
Science not on government’s side
In terms of the danger posed to school children for infection of Covid-19, science is not on government’s side.
Medical and health experts speaking to Africa Check have pointed out that at a population level, fewer children, compared to adults, will experience serious Covid-19 infection. And at a global level, and in South Africa, children have much better outcomes than adults.
A death, hospitalisation or admission into an intensive care unit is a rare event.
The latest statistics for the week ending 11 July, show that children still have a lower incidence risk of infection than adults. The NICD calculates the “cumulative incidence risk” by looking at the number of cases per 100,000 people in various age groups.
The mean – a measure of average – cumulative incidence risk was reported at 470 cases per 100,000 people for all age groups. The age group with the highest cumulative incidence risk was the 50 to 54 group, at 679.9 cases per 100,000.
Children’s incidence risk, in comparison, ranged from 56.9 per 100,000 to 195.4.
While detailed epidemiological investigations and widespread testing is required to draw stronger conclusions, the data suggests that children may be less susceptible to contracting the virus, Africa Check said.

Source: Business Tech