GOVT DECLINES TO POSTPONE SCHOOLS OPENING

MANZINI - Government has declined a proposal by Eswatini Principals Association (EPA), to defer the opening of schools for the 2022 calendar year, especially the first term.

The principals association had officially written a proposal to the Ministry of Education and Training, in particular to the office of the principal secretary (PS). The letter, which was signed by EPA Secretary General (SG) Mduduzi Masilela, is dated March 8, 2022 and titled; Re; proposal to review the school calendar - 2022. This was confirmed by EPA President Welcome Mhlanga, who said the national executive committee (NEC) of the association had been inundated with a number of concerns from their members regarding challenges which might be the result of the dates of the 2022 school calendar - in particular, the start of the first term.

Overwhelmed

He said in their submissions to the ministry; they mentioned that they were of the view that the one-week school break (March 25, 2022 to April 5, 2022) was not reasonable for them. He said teachers needed time to rest as they were overwhelmed. One reason he mentioned was that delivering on the compressed syllabus under intense pressure to cover most of it, balancing teaching and also supervising the classes of their colleagues who were away to mark the external examinations, was and would continue to be strenuous. Furthermore, Mhlanga said the teachers who remained behind still had to prepare and mark the internal examinations, as well as compile progress reports for the learners. Again, he said marking of the external examinations was energy-consuming and exerted further stress to meet the set deadlines. “In that regard, the teachers will need to rest and rejuvenate the mind in preparation for the first term of 2022,” the EPA president said.

Furthermore, he said some teachers would be marking the Form V external examinations after March 31, 2022 and they would need to rest thereafter. On another note, he said the admission process of new learners required time and was undertaken by both the school management and the admissions committee, which comprised of teachers. On top of that, he argued that parents also needed sufficient time to look for spaces and make the necessary arrangements, as per the school requirements for admission, like payment of school fees and submission of proof of payments to the schools. “The one week is not sufficient to carry out this activity,” he said.

Thereafter, the leader of the principals’ associations said teachers, through the heads of department, needed time to prepare mini budgets, which would be incorporated into the main school budget. He said teachers had to juggle this exercise with the other instructional responsibilities mentioned above. Moreover, he added that the school committees also required time to convene parents meetings for the presentation of financial reports as well as the budget of the institutions, for the parents’ approval of new fees and other pertinent school matters.
“It is against the above chronology of activities that the EPA proposes a school break of two weeks; by closing schools on March 25, 2022 and reopening on April 12, 2022, instead April 5, 2022,” Mhlanga said. Meanwhile, the PS in the Ministry of Education and Training, Bhekithemba Gama, said they received the proposed from the principals association. However, he said their proposal was declined.

Request

He said the request was denied because as a ministry, they reported to international bodies where there were minimum standards set for operations of schools. In particular, the PS said the number of hours spent in school mattered. The ministry claimed that it responded to the principals association through an electronic mail and fax last Friday, March 18, 2022. However, the EPA leadership said they did not receive feedback from the ministry. As such, they said they would make a follow-up today. It is worth noting that this academic year, there would be two terms, instead of three. This was according to an announcement which was made by the Minister of Education and Training, Lady Mabuza, on January 21, 2022.

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