This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
On June 8, 2020, South Africa was set to reopen schools for certain grades, despite a continued surge in Covid-19 cases, with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announcing the decision.
According to Motshekga, about 95% of schools had been provided with the necessary measures to reopen safely, including health, safety, and social distancing protocols.
Originally, the Department of Education had planned to reopen schools on June 1, but the date was postponed to June 8 after finding that most schools required more time to prepare.
"We can now say with confidence that about 95 per cent of our schools have been ably provided with the Covid-19 related imperatives for reopening," Motshekga said.
The education sector would strive to deal with the remaining 5% of schools to ensure that the rights to health, safety, and basic education for all South African children were protected, she added.
Where possible, learners from schools that were not ready would be moved to neighbouring schools that met the necessary requirements.
The announcement came as the country recorded 2,312 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 48,285, with 998 deaths.
