First week back at school went well — Nelson Mandela Bay principals

It is good news on the education front, with Nelson Mandela Bay principals saying the first week back at schools for grade sevens and 12s went well.

While not without some challenges, the majority of principals spoken to by The Herald said personal protective equipment (PPE) had eventually been delivered, pupil numbers were looking good and safety measures were in place.

Schools partially reopened on Monday last week.

However, some schools had to be shut during the first week due to Covid-19 infections —  at least 60 schools in the province, of which  19 were in Nelson Mandela Bay. 

At Parsons Hill Primary School, 100 of the school’s 103 grade seven pupils are back in class, with principal Clinton Saddler saying it was only those with underlying conditions — such as heart conditions and asthma — who had not returned.

Saddler said the department of education had “come to the party” and delivered PPE.

“Those that we didn’t get, we supplied,” Saddler said, adding that the school had gone all out to allay any fears parents or teachers might have had.

“We have had teachers on duty early in the morning and at break time to ensure the kids understand social spacing ... because kids will be kids.” 

Saddler said the school had divided the classes, with the school hall also being used.

“We have gone all out to allay any parental and teacher fears and we have had lots of grateful parents.”

Adapting to masks and shields was somewhat of a challenge but “we are doing very well with our new normal”. 

A Uitenhage high school principal, who did not want to be named, said 80 to 85% of his pupils had returned and the department had provided PPE albeit in “dribs and drabs”. 

What the department had not done, he said, was to sanitise the school.

“We did that ourselves because it was one of the union’s non-negotiables and we also did not want our parents and pupils to have concerns.”

The principal said pupils were being allowed to wear civvies so that clothes could be washed every day.

“We are back and fully operational. We have done what we had to do, but there are concerns when you hear about schools being closed [because of Covid-19 cases] and we do worry about when it will be us,” he said.

Also in Uitenhage, Jubilee Park Primary School principal Patric Korkee said about 70% of his pupils had arrived for school and the department of education had provided PPE.

“The only challenge is social distancing,” he said.

The deputy principal at Douglas Mbopa Senior Secondary in Motherwell, Nolutukela Mguca, said things had run smoothly during the first week and they were very happy and ready to welcome the grade 10s and 11s in July.

“Because we had planned everything thoroughly, we had no glitches and the pupils also have been trying their utmost to adhere to the social distance restrictions and other regulations.

“We might face a challenge when the other grades come back in terms of adhering to the precautionary measures like social distancing, however, we will be educating them extensively on Covid-19,” Mguca said.

A teacher from Ndzondelelo High School in Zwide said the only issue they had was absenteeism, attributing it to the health warning sent out to all pupils and staff members.

“Everything went as planned and we tried to not use too much time on the screening process because we still needed to cover a lot of work.

“In the first week all the lessons were 45 minutes, but from this week we will have hour-long lessons to catch up with the syllabus.

“My only concern is pupils who don’t come to school. They say they have stomachaches or headaches,” he said, adding that he feared some pupils were using it as an excuse to stay home.

It was not, however, all systems go at Khwezi Lomso in Zwide.

In a letter circulated to parents on Monday, the school said it had “received some disturbing news” which forced it to keep its gates closed.

EFF MPL Litha Zibula said he had gone to the school to check on its readiness for the reopening of classrooms for matrics.

According to Zibula, he was informed by the principal, Thanduxolo Nqolose, that the school was still closed because a teacher had apparently tested positive for the coronavirus.

It could not be determined on Sunday when the school would open.

Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said at least 60 schools in the province had been shut down during the first week due to infections.

He said 19 were in Nelson Mandela Bay.

“A presentation was made to top management of the department on Friday afternoon where the new standard operating procedures and interventions were highlighted.

“These will be used in orientation of teachers and school management teams.

“We have noted that the number of cases of either confirmed Covid-positive individuals, or people under investigation, reflect the realities of our communities.

“The hotspot municipalities are also the sites of the highest confirmed cases of positive teachers and to a much lesser extent learners.

“We will continue to exercise extreme caution and safety protocols and regular screening to safeguard the lives of our learners and teachers,” he said.