The DA says it is against the cancellation of the third term school holidays.
The DA is calling on the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to revoke its proposal to remove the October school holidays from the academic calendar.
According to the teachers’ unions, the DBE is planning on cancelling the third term school holidays – which were scheduled to take place from 4-8 October – to catch up on the lost curriculum.
The Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU) said; “it was learnt that the DBE intends to cancel the October school holiday to compensate for the five school days that were lost as a result of the earlier closure for the winter holidays”.
The union said instead of having the October holidays, learners will use the Heritage Day long weekend as a separation of the third and fourth terms.
The DA’s shadow minister for education, Baxolile Nodada, said the DBE should instead implement strategies to catch up on lost time and not just cancel the learners’ holidays.
“Holidays play a crucial role in allowing learners to take much needed time off, which is crucial to ensuring good mental health and will aid the learner in their preparation for the following term to come.
“Instead of once again disrupting the academic year and putting learners and teachers at risk of burnout, the DBE should look at the importance of finding innovative ways to catch up on lost time,” Nodada said.
The DA indicated that it has written to the Chairperson of the National Assembly committee on basic education to deal with the matter.
“Unless we find proper strategies to catch up on the curriculum, prevent further drop-outs and fix dilapidating infrastructure, Covid will continue to disrupt the proper functioning of our schools,” said Nodada.
