Makgoe says the 40 000 students include both full and part-time scholars. According to the supplied timetable, learners will be writing Accounting and Agricultural Sciences papers 1 on Monday. The preliminary examinations comes amid disruptions to teaching and learning caused by Covid-19. The most recent Free State school to be closed down temporarily is the Ladybrand Primary School in which nearly 90 learners tested positive for the coronavirus.

Makgoe said the learners at that school will return to school in a staggered format, with grades 6 and 7 retuning first on 6 September, followed by grades 4 and 5 a day after that, and so forth. The announcement came in the wake of the death of a grade 8 learner at the Kgotso Taole Secondary School in Botshabelo last weekend from Covid-19 related complications. 

The deceased, Mojalefa Thipane, was found to have tested positive for Covid-19 after an autopsy was carried out and it was ruled the deadly virus was the cause of death. Following this revelation, the Education Department closed down the school temporarily. Free State Health spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, said a total of 34 kids died of Covid-related complications. He said 9 deaths were registered amongst children in 2020, while the death toll now stands at 25 for 2021. In May 2021, a senior learner from the Lephola Secondary School in Welkom died from Covid-19 related complications following a reported outbreak at the school. 

Education Department spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, said at the time that the surge in coronavirus cases in Free State schools is a reflection of what is happening in communities in the province.

“These cases are imported from the communities into schools. So we want to reiterate our call to members of the communities, including learners, teachers and non-teaching staff, to religiously observe the non-pharmaceutical regulations, which includes wearing masks, sanitising, and avoiding crowded places. By doing so we believe we can win the war against this scourge,” stressed Ndaba.

OFM News