ABOUT 78 000 pupils in grades 6, 7, 11 and 12 have returned to the classroom since the reopening of schools in the Northern Cape.
A total of 227 632 pupils from the remaining school grades are expected to be phased in.
The head of the committee for Covid-19 in the Northern Cape Department of Education, Thomas van Staden, said that the phasing in of the remaining grades would be guided by the conditions going forward.
“There are some schools that have high numbers of pupils and we had to look at different models of phasing in pupils to ensure we maintain social distancing and curb the spread of the virus. One of the models is the platooning system, where schools will allow some pupils to attend classes in the morning and another batch of pupils coming in the afternoon. Another option is having pupils attend on alternative days of the week. The third option is the bi-weekly rotational, where pupils attend classes one week and then the next week another batch attend; and then there is also the hybrid model,” said Van Staden
“Eighteen schools in the Province have opted for the platooning model, while 292 schools have opted for the alternating days per week. Twenty-six schools have chosen the bi-weekly rotational attendance model, while 155 schools have chosen the hybrid model. There are 64 schools in the Province where all pupils are attending due to the low number of pupils at the school. It should be noted that not one model will be perfect and that each model will impact differently on pupils, educators and support staff.”
Van Staden added that the platooning model was the system that unions were most concerned about as it meant that teachers were required to work for an additional hour per day.
