The DA has previously made several proposals to the ministry and was pleased to see many of those proposals being incorporated, DA shadow minister for higher education, science and technology Belinda Bozzoli said in a statement on Sunday.

According to the phased, risk-based strategy, most teaching would continue online during coronovirus (Covid-19) alert level 4, with a surge in online teaching from June 1 onwards.

As soon as level 3 was announced, a third of all students would be able to return to face-to-face studies while online studies continued for the rest, and while during each of levels 2 and 1 a further one third would be added, again with online teaching continuing for any student unable to return, she said.

The DA further noted the emphasis on health protection measures which the minister said were in the pipeline. Furthermore, the negotiated zero-rated websites and the provision of "educational data bundles" and resources for the purchase of laptops for students, together with the delivery of paper-based teaching and learning material, would go a long way in assisting students who did not have access to digital platforms.

"We acknowledge that each institution will differ in its implementation plans and capacity. Some might have to extend the academic year into 2021 in order to finish the work required and hold exams. In this case, NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] might have to find an additional approximately R9 billion order to cover the costs of students attending for another three months or so," Bozzoli said.

The DA would keep a close eye on how the department supported and implemented these plans across the country. A mammoth task lay ahead as students gradually returned to the institutions, and not every institution would be able to fulfil the envisaged processes fully or perfectly.

"We will be monitoring the return of students over the next few months to ensure that where there are shortfalls they are quickly addressed. We will also be looking carefully at the regulations that will follow this announcement by the minister to ensure that they are sensible and rational," she said.

However, further details had yet to be confirmed, including what the entire exercise would cost, including but not confined to the additional R9 billion required by NSFAS, and where would the funding come from?

In light of the fact that both online and face-to-face teaching would have to occur simultaneously for long periods, would lecturers need to work overtime and would they be paid accordingly? Would additional staff be required to ensure physical distancing and other essential health protections? And how would 2020 matriculants be affected by these changes once they passed and chose to further their studies in institutions of higher learning in 2021? This particularly applied to institutions that would be extending the academic year, Bozzoli said.

African News Agency