For those pupils that continue their learning at home, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has reiterated that there are online resources to support them.
This comes as the DBE has adopted a staggered approach in reopening schools, after a three-month hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In SA, 205 721 cases of the virus and 3 310 deaths, with 97 848 recoveries, had been recorded by this morning.
According to Angie Motshekga, DBE minister, her department continues to provide support to learners at home with a variety of platforms, including radio, television, online and in school.
“We have 197 sites that are zero-rated, and have good curriculum content that can be accessed, whether one has data or not. These interventions are part of the department’s effort to ensure unlimited access to content for learning during this time,” says Motshekga.
The minister added that the list of zero-rated sites is available on the DBE’s home page.
Motshekga has emphasised that the lessons learnt from COVID-19 must be strategically used to plan for the future of the country’s education.
This, she says, means having a strategic plan for the improvement of school infrastructure, including provision and sustenance of water and proper sanitation, as well as fast-tracking rollout of ICT-related devices into learners’ hands.
The current administration has committed to equip every school child with digital workbooks and textbooks on a tablet device over the next six years.
“We must strive to bring forward some of the strategic plans under development, for implementation,” says the minister. “All of this should be done during our term of office.
“As South Africans, we have agreed that education is a societal matter. We therefore have an obligation to turn these noble words into tangible action.”
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