CAPE TOWN -
The coronavirus has disrupted the 2020 school year and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says more changes are planned to give learners the best chance at attending school.
Due to the loss of teaching time, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has cut some parts of the 2020 curriculum, and schools from across the country have adopted a rotation system where learners go to school on certain days of the week to allow for physical distancing.
The National Teachers Union (Natu) added that this system has compromised the quality of education and the quality of learners that will be produced for the next grade.
“We are looking at other measures. Other big schools for instance are using body screens not distancing because physical distancing is very expensive for us because it means we have to cut classes in half,” said Motshekga.
“At a school in KZN, they are using screens. It is the same class of 35 and they are using screens. You just manage the movement of learners, which means they able to have a normal timetable which is our biggest challenge now,” she said.
For the remainder of the 2020 curriculum that was trimmed, this will be carried over into 2021 and parts of the 2021 curriculum that remains incomplete will be covered in subsequent grades as part of a three-year programme.
Meanwhile, the matric class of 2020 started their final examinations this week which covers the full curriculum as they are writing a paper that has been set two years ago.