TSHEPISO MAMETELA|

Zimbabwe Women Sables are looking for an industrious start to the 2021 Africa Cup Challenge as they romp up preparations ahead of the scheduled tournament, which takes place in Uganda from 11 to 19 July.

The southern African country has assembled a strong squad and have gathered in the capital, Harare, where a training camp has been organised.

The Women Sables closed out an important friendly warm-up series against fellow-continental contenders Zambia, recently, as the two countries fought it out in the curtain-raising ‘Battle of Zambezi’.

Not merely looking to make up the numbers at the upcoming tournament, the Women Sables has called up a number of emerging talents in the country and abroad, one of which is Tadiwanashe Kwete, a versatile prop/ hooker who plies her trade running out for the Wits University Women’s rugby first team.

The first-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) student is set to be an integral part of her home nation’s pursuit of glory on the African safari, with the 21-year-old every bit as intent on making a notable impression in national team colours.

“It’s an honour to be recognised and to get the call-up, especially being out of the country,” Kwete told Wits Sport. “I am elated by the call-up [although] I did not expect it … there is new blood coming in and showing off what they can do.

“I felt proud watching them play [in the series against Zambia] but now I am overly excited to be joining them in camp.” The invitation is a testament to hard work, which Kwete believes she was able to put in all throughout training, so far, this year.

The devastating player scores her second senior national team call-up; first featuring for Zimbabwe’s Under-20 side in 2019 in a bilateral series against South Africa before making her senior team debut against Zambia in Lusaka that same year.

“I am looking at bagging more caps and playing my best rugby. I am excited to be joining the ladies in camp and I know it is going be a very technical and clinical camp where we work through our processes,” added a focused Kwete.

“Having played for Wits and learning a few things here, I really want to use that to better my play while also imparting what I have learned here to them, and vice versa.

“At the end of the day, we all understand that it is an uphill task facing Uganda considering the fact that there hasn’t been any rugby in Zimbabwe for close to two years now, because of the pandemic, but exciting times ahead.”

Wits Rugby’s Ferdinand Kelly said the rugby office couldn’t be prouder as Kwete’s beckoning on the continental stage demonstrates a sturdy women’s rugby programme at the institution.

Kelly lauded the strides made by the University to develop a high-performance women’s rugby programme in which female student-athletes can excel.

“We are immensely proud of Tadiwanashe’s achievement. It is purely a result of her commitment to the sport and the hard work she has put in … Our women’s programme is a work in progress and we are gradually making quality strides in the right direction,” the sports officer conceded.

“Earlier this month, Sibongile Mdaki was invited to join the provincial Golden Lions Ladies team, and now, Tadiwanashe has been called up for national duty. The measure of any productive rugby programme is [its ability to] produce provincial or national team players,” he added.

“It is an indication that our coaches and management are doing something correctly and that the program is in good stead. However, it becomes immensely important to make athletes aware of their academic responsibility and to find the balance between sport and their studies.”

A team of three Rhodes University students and two external collaborators have won first prize at the recently concluded nationwide Hackathon challenge.

The two-day challenge was organised by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA).

Dr Patrice Okouma, Department of Mathematics & Applied Mathematics Lecturer said when the Rhodes Artificial Intelligence Group hosted by the Mathematics Department was made aware of the challenge, they realised that it offered a unique opportunity for strengthening teamwork among some of our students.

He said three graduate students in the Mathematics Department accepted the challenge to compete.

“They are Irene Nandutu, Nicole Oyetunji and Kamvalethu Vanqa. Vanqa who have a joint affiliation with the Radio Astronomy Techniques and Technology in the Physics & Electronics Department.

“Nandutu is a Ph.D student who has considerable experience in building communities, Vanqa is an MSc student who has won a number of prizes and awards and Oyetunji is an MSc student and team leader,” said Okouma.

Adding that as per the design of the competition, the team had two external collaborators: “Professor Oleg Smirnov as well as Dr Marcellin Atemkeng and Dr Patrice Okouma are the students’ supervisors,” said Okouma.

A Hackathon is an event, usually hosted by a tech company or organization, where programmers get together for a short period of time to collaborate on a project. The participants work rapidly to achieve their task, as the events generally only last 24 hours or take place over a weekend.

The Rhodes University team won R5000 and a sponsored two-day tour of the Western Cape’s top space facilities, including the SANSA Hermanus campus. 

The win also includes flights, food, and accommodation.

Okouma said the win re-asserts the fact that Rhodes University has talented students with an inspiring willingness to contribute towards alleviating some of our practical problems.

He said as the university strives to strengthen a fertile environment for its students’ creativity to blossom.

Oyetunji said maths is a very male-dominated area, which can be intimidating, but I hope this win by two female leads encourage any girls out there that have an interest in science and to know that they are capable of achieving great things,” said the 24-year-old.

Adding that while academia is important, there are misconceptions about real-world maths application not extending beyond teaching.

“While teaching is an extremely important profession, there are other career paths for mathematicians who wish to be active in science,” said Oyentuji.

The Basic Education Sector vaccination programme deadline has been extended to Wednesday, 14 July.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the extension became necessary when additional doses for basic education personnel became available.

“The extension will enable the sector to vaccinate more people but also to mop up where some sites experienced some technical challenges resulting in delays,” said Motshekga.

Adding that the sector has also seen a strong demand for the vaccines in recent days.

“Provinces reported that more and more people were coming forward wanting to be vaccinated. More than 200 000 more people have been added to the list of staff to get vaccinated,” she said.

On Thursday Inside Education reported that the national basic education department requested an extension to its vaccination programme.

READ: DBE requests extension for education sector vaccination programme

According to the Department of Health, 437388 out of 582 564 educators and staff have now been vaccinated in the sector since rollout began.

“But we have now loaded 789,554 including food handlers, janitors, and support staff from independent schools and ECD centres located within school premises on the on the Electronic Vaccination Data System,” said the minister.

The department started its national vaccination programme on 23 June.

At the time, Motshekga said those who had tested positive for Covid-19 and people who took the flu jab, would not get vaccinated.

According to the department, the education sector was initially allocated 300 000 doses to be administered over a period of 10-days.

“In the past two weeks we have visited different provinces, where we monitored the progress of the vaccination programme.

“We did so because we appreciate the fact that we were prioritised and we really wanted everybody who qualifies to be vaccinated,” said Motshekga.

She said getting the vaccine will protect those in the education sector from severe illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19.

READ: DBE minister addresses vaccine hesitancy

“When you are vaccinated, your immune system will recognize the virus quickly when you get infected with Covid-19 and prevents you from being severely ill or dying,” she said.

The minister said there continues to be discrepancies between people who are submitted and those who appear on the Electronic Vaccination Data System.

“Nationally, names appear on the database but there is a problem at the sites when people get there to get their vaccinated,” said Motshekga.

She added that her department has received reports of people having been turned away and some do not return as a result because they travel long distances to reach the sites.

She said another issue that has come to the department’s attention is that provinces have informed educators in independent schools and School-Governing-Body-appointed personnel not to go to sites until they are sure that they appear on the Electronic Vaccination Data System.

“This has slowed down the number of people turning up at the sites in this category,” she said.

Motshekga said the extension of the programme would allow those who had missed the opportunity to get jabs initially to be vaccinated.

About 650 000 to 750 000 children aged seven to 17 years old were not attending school by May this year, compared to the average 400,000 – 500,000 number before the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is according to the National Income Dynamics Study — Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) released on Thursday.

Nompumelelo Mohohlwane, co-author of the study and researcher at the Department of Basic Education (DBE) said since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, children have been put at greater risk of dropping out of school.

Moholwane said as a result of the pandemic, children are lagging behind at school and have lost many learning hours.

Adding that the pandemic has also led to increased food insecurity and emotional health deterioration.

READ: DBE to be taken to court for failing to provide meals to learners

Debra Shepherd, co-author of the study and senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University said the study estimates that between March 2020 and June 2021 most primary school learners in South Africa lost 70% to a full year of learning.

“Between February 15 and 30 June 2021, schools were open for a total of 93 days.

“Assuming that learners would have received in-person instruction for half of these days and taking our previous estimate of 50-75% of a year of learning lost for each 120 days of schooling lost, we estimate that as much as a full year of learning has been potentially lost by the majority of learners since March 2020,” said Shepherd.

Mohohlwane added that the disruptions to the school year caused by the pandemic have played a major role in children not returning to school. She said this is because children have had to learn from home for certain periods of time due to national Covid-19 precautionary measures. 

Mohohlwane said the lowest return to schools was observed in the Free State (87%) and Eastern Cape (92%).

She said the highest number of dropouts are Grade 8 and 9 learners, followed by the Further Education and Training (FET) phase (Grade 10-12), and then the foundation phase.

Prior to the Covid-19 school closures, South Africa, like most developing countries, had achieved near universal school enrolment.

The Covid-19 pandemic led governments to enforce various restrictions to economic and social activities. One of the sectors that has been the most affected since the onset of the health emergency has been pre-primary, primary, and secondary education.

Research shows that more than a year after the World Health Organisation (WHO) proclaimed the outbreak of Covid-19 a pandemic, many learners continue to experience either partial or complete school closures.

READ: DBE Portfolio Committee supports return to class full-time for primary and special education learners

In November 2020, when asked about the attendance of young people living in their household, approximately 95% of adults reported that all learners in their household had recently attended school.

Research shows that this number has declined to 90% in April 2021.

“That is, as many as 750,000 children may now not be attending school.

“We can therefore conclude that disruptions in schooling have contributed to significant reductions in school enrolment,” said Mohohlwane.

She added that a decline in the attendance rate amongst this age group (7 to 17) fell from 98% to 94.2%.

Most households also reported that at least one learner had not returned to school in 2021.

Merle Mansfield, programme director of the Zero Dropout Campaign said despite South Africa’s large investment in basic education, around 40% of Grade one learners will exit the schooling system before finishing matric. Many will remain stuck in poverty and unemployment for life, she said. 

In response to the increasing number of learner dropout rates during the pandemic, the Zero Dropout Campaign said the government needs to implement an effective catch-up plan for learners.

Mansfield said before the pandemic, schooling was already characterised by too little learning, high levels of inequality, and regular disruption.

“Now, more than ever, we need a national, comprehensive response to school dropout that includes a national catch-up strategy attuned to the diverse needs of learners.

“We need to meet learners at their level and respond to their needs. Where possible, plans to recover lost learning, through accelerated catch-up programmes, should be tailored to learners’ needs, rather than their age or grade,” said Mansfield.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced that schools will remain closed until 26 July.

During his statement on the progress in the national effort to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramaphosa said cabinet followed scientific advice provided by the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 and deliberations of the National Coronavirus Command Council.

“After consultation with the provinces, we decided to maintain the country at Adjusted Alert Level 4 for another 14 days.

“These measures were urgent, and they were absolutely necessary to contain the third wave, which is being fuelled by the new Delta variant. 

“It remains our priority to break the chain of transmission by limiting social contact,” said Ramaphosa.

In response, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, said “President Cyril Ramaphosa in his own words”.

Earlier in the week, Mhlanga said schools were still set to open as initially planned.

READ: Schools on track to open even with rising Covid-19 infections

The spokesperson added that the department had received advice from the Ministerial Advisory Committee that schools can still open on 19 July.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said it will be devastating if the country’s schools are not allowed to reopen on 19 July as planned.

Motshekga said the education sector has already lost significant time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which will have long-term ramifications.

She said her department plans to open on 19 July as gazetted but, “we will not be irresponsible if there are still difficulties by the time we want to open and bring more learners”.

Mhlanga said the call for schools not to open is an irresponsible call and that the education sector cannot afford to lose another school year.

READ: It will be “devastating” if schools don’t open on 19 July – says Motshekga

But on Sunday, Ramaphosa told the nation that when he last addressed citizens [on 27 June], he indicated that government would assess the situation after 14 days and determine what further adjustments may be required. 

“As things stand now, infections remain extremely high. 

“With the fast-spreading Delta variant, we are experiencing a third wave that is more severe than the first and second waves. 

“For the last two weeks, the country has consistently recorded an average of nearly 20,000 daily new cases. At present, the country has over 200,000 active Covid-19 cases,” said Ramaphosa.

Adding that in the last two weeks over 4,200 South Africans have lost their lives to Covid-19.

Some teacher unions have consistently said schools should not open before July 26.

Ben Machipi, secretary of the Professional Educators’ Union (PEU) previously said that PEU is not in support of schools opening on 19.

“We should first observe the impact of the 14-day alert level 4 lockdown on infections before determining when must school reopen,” Machipi said.

Inside Education previously reported that Basil Manuel, executive director of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA, said the date for the reopening of schools left them a bit uncomfortable.

“We believe that we should keep the reopening of the schools on the 26 of July because we don’t know if the whole country will have passed the third wave. There are provinces that are far behind in the peak, and we don’t want to see continuous changes on the school calendar.

READ: Unions welcome the closure of schools

“The president closed schools, but we should keep the holidays as they are,” he said.

Kabelo Mahlobogwane, Educators Union of SA spokesperson, also said the reopening of schools must be guided by the third wave. 

“Right now, the focus is to save lives and that is what we will entertain,” he said.

While the lockdown rules are likely to be extended, schools are still set to open as initially planned.

This is according to the Department of Basic Education Spokesman Elijah Mhlanga who said the department has received advice from the Ministerial Advisory Committee that schools should still open on 19 July.

With the increase in Covid-19 infections across the country, there have been calls for the department not to open schools on 19 July.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Sunday that a total of 22 117 tests were conducted over the last 24 hours with 21 610 new cases. According to the institute, this represents a 28% positivity rate. The institute also added that a further 265 people have died from Covid-19 related deaths brining the total fatalities in the country to 64 138.

It is because of this trajectory that President Cyril Ramaphosa on 27 June moved South Africa to an adjusted alert level 4 lock down in an effort to curb the spread of the third wave of Covid-19 and reduce the burden on healthcare facilities. According to the president, evidence indicates that the Delta variant is driving a severe third wave in South Africa and the country continues to have the highest Covid-19 burden in Africa.

READ: BREAKING: Schools to shut down from Wednesday

Ramaphosa said the regulations also meant that schools were once again forced to shut down from 30 June. He said the winter holidays will be moved forward in an attempt to reduce the impact of this lockdown on the studies of young South Africans.

Ramaphosa said he would address the nation again after the two weeks to formulate a way forward.

According to experts, the president is unlikely to move South Africa away from level 4 lockdown even as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country remain high.

The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) will meet today, on Sunday, to assess developments in the Covid-19 pandemic and the national response to this challenge.

The NCCC meeting will be followed by meetings of the President’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet.

These meetings come two weeks after Ramaphosa moved the country to Alert Level 4 to curb the spread of the virus.

The new level 4 lockdown regulations include a curfew between 21:00 to 04:00, a ban on alcohol sales, restrictions on gatherings, and closing schools by bringing holidays forward.

Schools are currently expected to reopen on 19 July in accordance with an announcement by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

READ: It will be “devastating” if schools don’t open on 19 July – says Motshekga

However, it is unclear how schools will be affected by a possible extension of the current adjusted level 4 national lockdown.

Chief Economist at the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University Hugo Pienaar said the current lockdown will be extended.

Pienaar said the seven-day rolling average has risen since Ramaphosa first moved the country to an adjusted level 4 lockdown, meaning it would be difficult to justify a reduction in the lockdown level.

 But the department says it cannot afford to lose another school year.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said it will be devastating if the country’s schools are not allowed to reopen on 19 July as planned.

Motshekga said the education sector has already lost significant time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which will have long-term ramifications.

She said her department plans to open on 19 July as gazetted but, “we will not be irresponsible if there are still difficulties by the time we want to open and bring more learners”.

Mhlanga said the call for schools not to open is an irresponsible call.

READ: Unions welcome the closure of schools

“Even last year they said close schools but when we opened schools, parents took their children to schools.

“This is a call by few people, and it is funny that it is always the minority group that makes such calls that schools must be closed down,” said Mhlanga.

Adding that, “when we prepare to open schools, those people are not there to offer their ideas.

“They are all about saying ‘close’, but they do not tell you how to open; they don’t even contribute in that regard,” said Mhlanga.

The minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, said educators and other staff in her sector “really need to overcome hesitancy”.

Motshekga was briefing media at the Gallagher Estate vaccination site in Midrand on Thursday.

Motshekga said her department has received reports from its social partners who have indicated that some educators and support staff members are refusing to get the vaccine on the basis of their religious beliefs.

“At the start of the programme we saw many religious [leaders] come forward to receive the vaccine.

“Let me say this, there are myths about the vaccines that we also need to address in our communities.

“All vaccines used in South Africa have been tested and approved by SAHPRA [South African Health Products Regulatory Authority] – an entity of the National Department of Health created by government with the responsibility to regulate health products in the country.

“Getting the vaccine will protect you from severe illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19,” said the minister.

Inside Education reported on Wednesday that the national department of basic education said all teachers must report to work on July 19 already vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who have chosen not to be vaccinated will be required to provide an explanation of the steps they will take to protect themselves, as well as learners and other colleagues teachers in the workplace.

READ: Teachers who refuse to be vaccinated are a threat – DBE

Basic Education Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the department was still discussing the next steps regarding educators who have refused vaccination, as working from home and listing medical conditions is not an option.

This came after reports that 9113 educators and support staff in Gauteng province refused to be vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.

Reports also stated that other educators from the Western Cape province also said they would not be participating in the vaccination drive due to vaccine safety concerns,  religion reasons and pregnancy as reasons.

Motshekga said as a department, they respect an individual’s right not to be vaccinated.

“… especially in those cases where people have indicated that they are not willing to get vaccinated. However, we would like to appeal to all our personnel to get the vaccine,” she said.

She added that the learning losses are getting worse daily and the impact on the system will indeed affect negatively in the future.

“We will need to work together to ensure that we get vaccinated and indeed continue to comply with the health and safety protocols relevant to Level 4 of the risk adjusted strategy,” she said.

When schools reopen, we will expect all our teachers, including those with comorbidities, to return to work.

READ: DBE to be taken to court for failing to provide meals to learners

According to the department of basic education, around 16,000 teachers have been on special leave because they have comorbidities.

Motshekga said the department has discussed this matter with the teacher unions, and all five of the unions that are part of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) are in full support of this position.

“There will be no need for the DBE to develop any additional policies during this period, because it already has sufficient policies in place to address the current situation of the pandemic; and while the vaccination process is being implemented.

“The Department of Basic Education has requested that a Special ELRC meeting be convened on Friday, 09 July 2021, to discuss a proposal in the form of a draft collective agreement.

“This draft collective agreement aims to guide the operational requirements for educators employed in terms of the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (Act No. 76 of 1998), following the implementation of the Basic Education Sector Covid-19 vaccination programme,” said Motshekga.

Motshekga said it is for that reason that her department makes the appeal to everybody in the education sector to ensure that they please get vaccinated, “so we can focus on the task of stabilising schooling.

“We really need to overcome hesitancy,” she said.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has asked the Department of Health to give the education sector an extension “in order to mop-up the outstanding vaccinations”.

Speaking to media on Thursday, Motshekga said about 400 000 people in the sector have been vaccinated but the numbers have increased.

“We initially targeted 582,000 people in the sector but we have now loaded 789,554 including food handlers, janitors, and support staff from independent schools and ECD centres located within school premises on the on the Electronic Vaccination Data System,” said the minister.

Adding that the department wants to use the time to conclude the programme properly in the sector accommodate those excluded on terms of the criteria outlined by the Department of Health.

“These include individuals who recently tested positive for Covid-19 and those who took the flu vaccine,” she said. These individuals were excluded from the initial vaccination drive.

READ: Higher Education and Training sector vaccination programme to start

Motshekga said the Department of Health has offered additional doses that the basic education will use to vaccinate other people in the sector, who were initially not included.

The vaccination programme in the basic education sector started on 23 June. According to the department, the education sector was initially allocated 300 000 doses to be administered over a period of 10-days.

“In the past two weeks we have visited different provinces, where we monitored the progress of the vaccination programme.

“We did so because we appreciate the fact that we were prioritised and we really wanted everybody who qualifies to be vaccinated,” said Motshekga.

She said getting the vaccine will protect those in the education sector from severe illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19.

“When you are vaccinated, your immune system will recognize the virus quickly when you get infected with Covid-19 and prevents you from being severely ill or dying,” she said.

READ: DBE Covid-19 provincial vaccine rollout campaign

However, there remains challenges.

The minister said there continues to be discrepancies between people who are submitted and those who appear on the Electronic Vaccination Data System.

“Nationally, names appear on the database but there is a problem at the sites when people get there to get their vaccinated,” said Motshekga.

She added that her department has received reports of people having been turned away and some do not return as a result because they travel long distances to reach the sites.

She said another issue that has come to the department’s attention is that provinces have informed educators in independent schools and School-Governing-Body-appointed personnel not to go to sites until they are sure that they appear on the Electronic Vaccination Data System.

“This has slowed down the number of people turning up at the sites in this category,” she said.

Education activists and school governing bodies have returned to court to fight for school meals for learners.

In a joint statement released by Equal Education (EE) and the school governing bodies (SGBs) of two Limpopo schools, represented by SECTION27 and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), the group said they are returning to court against the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and provincial education departments for failing to rollout the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) to every single eligible learner in South Africa, for over a year.

Julia Chaskalson, SECTION27 Communications Officer said we are asking for a new court order that declares that education officials have not met their constitutional obligations to provide daily meals to all qualifying learners.

 Chaskalson added that the DBE and the provincial departments have not fulfilled the requirement to submit plans and monitoring reports, as ordered by the courts in July 2020.

“The education MECs and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga should give the court reasons why they shouldn’t be fined or sent to jail for being in contempt of the court order.

“We are asking the court to order the national and provincial education departments to file new, revised plans to deliver the NSNP, that take into account the continued challenges posed by Covid-19,” said Chaskalson.

READ: 1.5 million learners have not yet received their food from the school mandated programmes

Jay-Dee Cyster, Equal Education Communications Officer said we are asking the court to order that these new plans be filed within a month, and that the education departments file monthly updates on implementing the new solutions with the court, until the court says they can stop doing so. 

According to Equal Education and SECTION27, the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Division ordered that Motshekga and the education MECs for eight provinces roll out the NSNP to all qualifying learners – regardless of whether learners had physically returned to school or not.

The two organisations said yet a full year later, education officials have failed to develop practical or realistic plans for the NSNP which address the new realities of schooling during Covid-19, and many vulnerable learners are missing out on daily school meals.

“Many provincial education departments have also stopped submitting the monitoring reports that the court ordered them to compile.

“After trying to resolve these problems directly with national and provincial education departments through letters and submissions, we are now going back to court to demand that they comply with the June 2020 court order,” said Cyster.

Meanwhile, the Free State Department of Education on Wednesday made calls all on principals in the province to roll-out school nutrition programme to all qualifying learners.

Spokesperson for the Free State Department of Education Howard Ndaba said schools in the Free State have been requested to develop differentiated school specific feeding plans.

“Learners who are not at school are requested to come to school with containers to collect their meals

“These learners will be expected to leave the school premises as soon as they receive their meals and are encouraged to go straight home,” said Ndaba.

In her media briefing on the sector’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Motshekga said schools will make the necessary arrangements to continue to provide feeding to those learners who are beneficiaries of the NSNP.

But this has not happened, said Equal Education and SECTION27.

Chaskalson said according to SECTION27’s recent survey of school officials and parents, the organisation found that of the 53 schools surveyed, 49% (26 schools) said that not all learners receive meals on the days they are not at school due to rotational timetables.

“The situation was particularly bad in Limpopo, where 13 of the 22 schools surveyed said that learners don’t receive meals on days that they are at home,” she said.

Adding that of the 43 parents and caregivers that we asked about whether their children receive NSNP meals on days that they do not attend school, 74% – 32 parents and caregivers said that their children do not receive these meals.

Only 10 parents, 23%, reported that their children do.

READ: Over 2 Million Learners Still Not Receiving Food From Basic Education Department, Says Equal Education

“It is clear that this is a problem in each of the provinces surveyed, with at least half of all parents and caregivers in each province saying that their children do not receive meals when they are at home.

“Parents and caregivers spoke of the physical and emotional stress of learners not getting meals, especially when breadwinners have lost their income due to lockdown. Not having food hurts children’s ability to learn,” said Chaskalson.

She added that the two organisations have asked for an urgent court hearing date against the DBE within the month.

Students’ representative councils (SRCs) at universities across the country have distanced themselves from claims made by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that they have raised concerns that positive Covid-19 cases could continue to rise if residences remain open.

The South African Union of Students (SAUS) said the SABC “erroneously made misleading claims” that SRCs raised concerns about the 19 covid-19 positive cases could continue to rise if residences remained open.

SAUS President Lubabalo Ndzoyiya said SAUS – as a union and body representing all SRCs across all universities in the country – we “want to categorically denounce such utterances from the SABC as untrue and misleading, in the same light we want to staunchly condemn this mischievous and propagandist stunt by the national broadcaster.”

“As a union, we maintain, that no student should be evicted and sent back home whilst the academic year is in process.

“In the event of implementation of harder lockdowns, we still maintain that students who were residing in residences when the tighter restrictions were implemented, must be allowed to carry on residing in residences,” said Ndzoyiya.

Adding that the union’s call and stance is echoed by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, in his previous address who said “residences will remain open, as it is also not safe for students to travel back home at this time and it is necessary for students to retain access to campus and residence-based WIFI”.

READ: Nzimande on post school education and training institutions plans on the Covid-19 adjusted level 4 lockdown

Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country has been moved to Adjusted Alert Level 4 following the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading quickly across the country.

The announcement has direct for the teaching and learning programme, and assessments in particular.

At the time, Nzimande said that in terms of the Adjusted Alert Level 4 lockdown, the universities do not officially close but all face-to-face teaching and examinations must halt for the next two-week period.

He said during this period, learning will shift exclusively to online learning for all students.

Even though the minister said university residences would remain open, he said universities need to continue to manage residences according to the necessary health and safety protocols, as outlined in the directions and in line with protocols developed by higher health.

Ndzoyiya said SAUS has been in contact with SRCs across the country in efforts the determine the veracity of these claims by the SABC.

“They [SRCs] have distanced themselves and claiming no knowledge of the above by the broadcaster. We therefore cannot accurately decipher what could have been the objective behind this malevolent act which propagated not only confusion amongst our students but even our parents,” he said.

READ: BREAKING: Schools to shut down from Wednesday

Wits SRC has also distanced itself from the report.

“The Wits SRC would like to distance itself from this stance. Our students are not moving, they will occupy the residences. We are not a part of this. This is nonsense,” said the council.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) SRC also distanced itself from the SABC report.

“Our students in UKZN are not going anywhere and will occupy residences until they have fully exhausted all residence fees that they charged,” said UKZN student leader Moses Nkambako.

Tshwane University of Technology as well as the Mangosuthu University of Technology *MUT) have also distanced themselves from the claims.

“MUT SRC would like to distance itself from the statement of SABC news. We form absolutely no part of the SRCs mentioned and we are not at any point advocating for evacuation of residences,” said the MUT SRC.