DURBAN - The Department of Basic Education has announced that schools will return to normal teaching schedules as from Monday February 7, 2022.
The announcement was made in a statement today following Cabinet approval of changes to the Adjusted Alert Level 1Covid-19 regulations on Monday night.
The following decisions were made by Cabinet:
- Primary, secondary and special schools will return to daily attendance.
- The regulatory provision for social distancing of 1 metre for learners in schools has also been removed.
Last week minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga made recommendations to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to reduce social distancing measures in classrooms.
The department welcomed the decision.
“The Department of Basic Education welcomes the decision by Cabinet to allow schools to return to full-time learning in all schools,” said department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga.
Mhlanga said the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) met this morning to process the decision.
“CEM agreed that schools would return to normal time-tabling as from Monday 7 February 2022,” he said.
He said a series of meetings had been scheduled with stakeholders to inform them of the decision, adding that the sector would prepare for the full return of pupils in the meantime.
“The Minister will gazette new directions in the coming days to reflect the Cabinet decision and to also provide guidance ahead of the resumption of traditional time-tabling,” said Mhlanga.
The Department said the CEM will meet again on Friday.
According to The Mercury Cabinet said that information gathered from the Department of Health showed that South Africa had exited the fourth wave Covid-19 nationally.
Based on the trajectory of the pandemic and the levels of vaccination in the country, cabinet teherfore decided to make changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 with immediate effect.
The changes include:
- Those who test positive with no symptoms do not have to isolate.
- If you test positive with symptoms, the isolation period has been reduced from 10 to 7 days.
- Contacts do not have to isolate unless they develop symptoms.