‘Anxiety is no reason to stop kids going to school’, Motshekga tells parents

Angie Motshekga has delivered a particularly blunt message for parents on Monday, after the debate about sending children back to school flared up once more. The Basic Education Minister confirmed that the official start date for Grade 7 and Grade 12 learners has been pushed back to Monday 8 June.

However, as we saw this morning, the inability to communicate this decision has left many people frustrated. During her briefing earlier, Motshekga gave a whole host of reasons for delaying the start date, blaming the lack of readiness in hundreds of schools across the country. Some educational facilities have opened as planned today, but they’re being instructed to use this week for ‘orienteering purposes’ only.

Angie Motshekga says ‘anxiety over COVID-19’ shouldn’t keep kids out of school

A fair number of parents are highly concered about sending their children back to school at any point this month, and a petition started by Mmusi Maimane is calling for the gates to be closed until September. But Motshekga is having none of it, and she delivered a fierce message to caregivers who are riddled with fear:

“Parents should not deprive their kids the right to education. Those who wants to homeschool their children should familiarise themselves with the homeschooling policy. You can’t just keep your child at home because you are ‘anxious’ – a parent is obliged to apply for home education.”

Angie Motshekga

Motshekga has emphasized that all children under 15 years of age are obliged by law to attend school and that anxious parents who feel that their children will not be safe should apply for home-school. #SAfmTalkingPoint #June1st @CathyMohlahlana

— SAfmRadio 📻 (@SAfmRadio) June 1, 2020

Homeschool or bust, concerned parents told

We reported in May that Angie Motshekga and her department would only allow children to stay home if parents agreed to make homeschooling arrangements for them. But room for compromise has disappeared.

The minister’s message on Monday targeted the concerns of mothers and fathers, accusing them of being ‘too frightened’ about the risk of infection. The tone was unsympathetic, to say the least.