A total of 65 000 Grade 7 and 37 000 Grade 12 learners are expected to be back at school in the province. 

On Saturday, premier Job Mokgoro addressed the media on the state of readiness for the reopening of schools in the province.

As part of precautionary measures taken by the government, he says the provincial Department of Education has procured and delivered 12 000 containers of 5-litre sanitisers and 3 008 25-litre containers of hand soap to schools.

3 000 digital infrared thermometers have been procured and delivered to various schools across the province.

30 000 face shields have been provided to teachers. Mokgoro further says that they have finalised the delivery of 1 200 hand sanitiser containers to districts, 3 008 boxes of aprons and 3 008 boxes of gloves meant for schools in the districts.

"We will be ensuring 1,5 meters social distancing in schools with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 30 learners in classes. We have decided on single desks for learners, however some of our schools currently have a combination of single and double desks, but schools have ensured that social distancing is observed at all times," he adds.

The reopening of schools follows the recent announcement made by the Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, that schools will be ready to resume under strict conditions due to Coronavirus on the 8th of this month.

Various stakeholders in the province also became involved to support efforts of the provincial government in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.

"These and many more stakeholders assisted us to prepare by volunteering their resources to ensure the deep cleaning of schools in some parts of the Province. We have made sure to stick to our promise and commitment to ensure that we avail and distribute COVID-19 PPE to schools and this includes infrared thermometers, cloth masks and face shields, " Mokgoro further adds.

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