We told minister schools are not ready – unions
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) say they are not surprised by Minister Angie Motshekga announcement that the opening of schools would be postponed.
On Monday, Motshekga confirmed that schools would only reopen in a week's time.
"Had the minister made this announcement yesterday, we may have been a little bit more excited about it in fact what the minister told us, we all knew already," said Naptosa president Basil Manuel.
“The announcement of the postponement from the 1-8 June comes as no surprise to us because we have been asking the minister that the system is not ready," adds Sadtu secretary-general Mugwena Maluleke.
The reopening of schools has divided the country since Motshekga announced government's plan to try and salvage the academic year.
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The plan would include a phased in approach which will see Grade 12s and 7s return back first to their places of learning.
Maluleke says Sadtu will continue to monitor the situation on the ground.
“We will assess and we will also be having our own work that we are doing on the ground to keep on feeding to the department to say this is not done and that is not done.”
Manuel maintains that the system is still not ready.
"We have [already] proven to the minister that the system isn't ready, her consortium has now proven that the system isn't ready. We knew that there are 3 500 schools without water and of course we know that there are challenges with the opening of schools over and above just PPE's etc," he says.