Teachers To Enjoy Eight Work-Free Days
Pini Bothoko | Monday April 19, 2021 15:19
Unlike in the past, where teachers were required to take leave days over school vacation, the ministry has decided to appreciate educators with work-free days for their contributions in the midst of a distressing time of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This was revealed by the Minister of Basic Education, Fidelis Molao when addressing Parliament on Friday. He stated that teachers and auxiliary staff in schools will get to rest over the eight working days in the upcoming school vacation for an outstanding job.
“The first term school vacation starts on Friday 23 April 2021 and school will reopen on May 11 for the second term. Therefore, we expect staff to report back to duty station on May 6 to prepare for term two,” Molao said.
He added that their COVID-19 inspection teams will get to the job for compliance starting May 7, hence the school leadership should return to schools on May 3 to prepare prior to inspection.
Molao said the ministry had thought the 2021 academic year would be better as compared to the previous one. The 2020 academic year was punctuated by lockdowns, a number of travel restrictions, quarantines and isolations at the school level due to COVID-19 cases, which disturbed the normal flow of school life. However, Molao said it turned out that COVID-19 has become more aggressive in 2021.
Furthermore, the minister said they continue to register high numbers of infections in some schools. This he said forced the ministry to suspend teaching and learning for days and use some of their facilities as both quarantine and isolation centres for those who are infected. “This is bound to have adverse effects on our learning outcomes. We have experienced the loss of lives due to COVID-19 and both teachers and support staff have not been spared. To date we have lost 25 teachers and 12 support staff,” he revealed.
Molao said the loss of lives was psychologically draining not only on families but also on other teachers, learners and colleagues who are like family in the school environment.
“Despite these traumatic challenges, teachers have remained focused and continued to do their best to guide learners. Learners have hope that despite COVID-19 there is still tomorrow due partly to the parental role played by teachers. I take this moment to commend them for their enduring strength and courage. I urge them to continue with this good work,” Molao added. He said the 2020 examination results were not different from those of the previous years, though the year had many challenges arising from COVID-19. He added that this was made possible by the teachers’ outstanding hard work and contribution.
Molao further appealed to the entire nation to continue supporting teachers during this difficult time. He encouraged learners to take their studies seriously despite the challenges and dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as education is a fundamental human right.
The minister described schools as a safe haven for children, which allow parents to pursue economic activities without hindrance. He further explained that on a daily basis teachers interact with many learners, which exposes them to the risk of COVID-19 infections.
“It is my ardent hope that once the supply of COVID-19 vaccines improves Parliament will support the prioritisation of teachers for early vaccination so that they may continue their work without much fear and anxiety,” Molao said.