No âkid gloveâ treatment for private schools, Cosatu urges
By Jason Woosey
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Durban - Cosatu wants the government to enforce new guidelines on the reopening of schools saying it should not be âpersuadingâ them as the rule of law should apply equally to all citizens.
This comes after the Department of Basic Education delayed the reopening of schools by two weeks in order to monitor the severity of the coronavirus.
The labour federation stood with a statement by Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule that private schools that have already reopened would be persuaded with the assistance of the National Alliance for Independent Schools Association to follow the new protocols.
Private school parents told they will not be issued refunds for closures due to charity law
Headteachers have told families that due to charity law they are unable to issue refunds for invoices which have already been paid
Parents will not be issued with refunds
Private school parents have been told that they will not be issued fee refunds for this term due to charity law, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
Independent schools, along with their state counterparts, have been ordered to close until at least February half-term, as part of the national lockdown.
But unlike the previous period of school closures last Spring, where many institutions issued parents fee reductions, it is understood that no such rebates will be issued this time.
Covid:19: What private schools could learn from Sadtu, the govt and the British monarchy - News24
16 January 2021 - An unfortunate inversion played out this week as teachers union, Sadtu, and the government demonstrated more enlightened opinions on education and the broader Covid-19 pandemic threat than South Africa s elite private schools.
Frans Cronje
An unfortunate inversion played out this week as teachers union, Sadtu, and the government demonstrated more enlightened opinions on education and the broader Covid-19 pandemic threat than South Africa s elite private schools.
The simple math is that the reopening of schools would have put an additional estimated 15 million people into social circulation – a number calculated from the sum of pupils in South African schools, together with some estimates of teachers and support staff. That circulation would have created opportunities for much new viral cross-pollination which would, in turn, have risked further pressure on hos
16 January 2021 - 15:39 Curro s 177 schools will remain open for now, the private school group said on January 16 2021. Image: Sunday World/Tshepo Kekana
Curro schools will continue to provide face-to-face learning next week despite the government announcement on Friday that the reopening of schools has been postponed until February 15.
Curro, the country’s largest private education provider, operated 177 schools last year.
In her announcement on Friday, deputy basic education minister Makgabo Reginah Mhaule said the decision to delay the new term because of surging Covid-19 infections “includes private schools that have reopened already. They will need to postpone their reopening to a later date.”