The provincial Education Department says learners who cannot write their preliminary examinations will receive an adjusted mark for the subjects they missed.
Provincial Education Spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe says, “During the past week, we recorded 339 new COVID-19 cases, which include 36 educators, 289 learners and 14 support staff members at schools. A total of six schools are currently closed in the province and scheduled to reopen during the course of this week. The high infection rate, especially amongst our learners, is very concerning and we would appeal to parents and school communities to limit movement or social interaction of our learners whilst at home.”
Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, says academic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic could negatively impact learners’ abilities to advance their careers and earnings in future.
The department says it is working towards preventing further disruptions to school time, as well as other learning losses.
Motshekga was speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria.
“Of particular concern are the learning losses reported across the system since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The unpredicted closure of schools and unplanned disruptions to teaching and learning have resulted in the reversal of gains made in the last 20 years. Unfortunately, research indicates that lost school days lead to forgone learning. Our international experience and research has confirmed that learning losses, experienced during the pandemic, lead to long-term adverse effects including learners obtaining lower overall education values and ultimately lower lifetime earnings.”
South Africa has recorded 10 173 new COVID-19 cases taking total cases to 2 757 1918. The increase represents an 18.1% positivity rate.
A further 274 COVID-19-related deaths have also been reported, taking the country’s total fatalities since the pandemic outbreak to 81 461. -SABC
