School stay-away: Teachers union distances itself from Maimane’s boycott
The national school stay-away organised by former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and One South Africa Movement (OSA) founder, Mmusi Maimane, will go ahead on Friday 10 July.
Maimane, who has continued to fight against the reopening of South African schools amid the rampant coronavirus pandemic, will be leading the charge from the front on Friday, joining defiant parents and pupils in Belhar, Cape Town. The latest boycott orchestrated by Maimane and OSA follows a series of debilitating courtroom defeats.
Maimane, who, with thousands of signatures indicating public support, originally petitioned Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to halt the contentious back to school programme. Maimane’s legal bid to postpone the return of pupils to classrooms was thrown out by the Pretoria High Court and barred from the Constitutional Court.
Surge in coronavirus cases has classrooms worried
Maimane’s health and safety concerns have been echoed by the public at large, with many parents, pupils and teachers citing the country’s sudden coronavirus surge as reason enough to have classrooms shut. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema, has also called for schools to be closed as South Africa experiences the worst daily infection tallies on record.
Minister Motshekga recently revealed that 2 740 teachers and 1 260 pupils had been infected with COVID-19 since Grade 7 and 12 learners returned to school on 8 June. Motshekga, who has faced criticism for allowing the return of Grade R, 6 and 11 pupils in early July, has consistently argued against prolonged closures, citing the importance of education and the correlation to the reopening of the broader economy.
#SchoolStayaway: Classrooms must only reopen in 2021
With little legal recourse left to explore, Maimane endeavoured to embark on the path of peaceful protest in the form of a national stay-away. The OSA leader called on all teachers, pupils, parents and school staff — who believe the reopening of schools to be reckless and premature — to boycott the system by staying away classrooms on Friday 10 July.
As part of the #SchoolStayaway statement, Maimane added that classrooms should be closed until the coronavirus peak had subsided in 2021, saying:
“Our #SchoolStayaway demand is clear: Minister Motshekga must reverse her decision to reopen schools. It is a rushed and ill-advised decision, unnecessarily putting lives at risk. The fact is that not all schools are ready to reopen safely, and doing so has already put in danger the lives of students, teachers and support staff as COVID-19 infections continue to rise.”
Maimane proposed that, to make up for lost teaching time, the current curriculum be adjusted to continue in 2021.
Teachers union doesn’t support Maimane’s school stay-away
On the eve of the school stay-away, Maimane revealed — by publishing correspondence with stewards — that members of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) would support the boycott in an ‘unofficial’ capacity. Reacting to the revelation, SADTU immediately sought to distance itself from Maimane’s initiative, saying:
“We have learned through social media that SADTU is part of a Stay Away on Friday, 10 July 2020. Please be aware that as the Union we haven’t received any written request from any organizations first for the use of our logo, and second to be part of the Stay Away.
We therefore distance the Union from the fake news about our Union being part of the call for a Stay Away.”
The union, which, in the early stages of the reopening process, was vehemently opposed to Motshekga’s strategy, added that it supported Maimane’s concerns, in principal, adding:
“In our statement last weekend, we made it clear that the increase in the grades was undesirable and a recipe for disaster. We made it clear that the schools that have not complied with health and safety precautions must not receive additional grades.
We made it clear to the Minister that she must not hesitate to shut down all schools during the peak to save lives.”
Maimane is expected to lead the protest from Perseverance Secondary School in Belhar at 10:00.
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