President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster on Sunday and said that all schools should close their doors from Wednesday until after the Easter weekend.

Sadtu spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi, says the president’s decision should be commended.

“The decision to close schools is a sigh of relief following our concern that the government has not been proactive with measures on curbing the virus.

“We are going to engage further with the Department of Basic Education on Tuesday on the development of learning materials as per our request.”

Cembi believes children are better off staying at home than going to school.

“We are aware that parents are concerned with who will be looking after their children, but we are saying that it is better to keep them safe and there is no use to send them to school where they will be exposed.”

Jacaranda FM