Article by: Dumisane Dube
The Northern Cape Education Department says they have recorded about 400 Covid-19 cases across provincial schools in the last week.
Provincial education spokesperson is Geoffrey van der Merwe says the department is forced to close schools to allow for disinfection of affected premises.
“The new COVID-19 infections include 28 educators, 367 learners and 15 support staff at various schools. We currently have seven schools that are closed in the province to allow for contact tracing and the disinfection of school premises,” said Van der Merwe.
The department says they are worried about the loss of teaching and learning time.
“The department is concerned about the continuous learning losses suffered and the sporadic closure of schools due to the pandemic. This continues to take a devastating toll on the academic performance of learners and their preparedness for the examinations. It’s clear that the academic recovery will take much longer than expected, whilst the current reality is placing a massive strain on the entire education sector,” he added.
The Northern Cape has experienced high infection rates for several weeks, with Health Minister Joe Phaahla saying the province appeared to have shown little recovery between its second and third waves.
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