Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi is set to visit Helpmekaar college in Braamfontein, Johannesburg on Monday.
The visit comes after reports came that the school has informed parents that all 1200 boys should report for classes, despite the regulations announced by government last week.
The Deputy-Minister of Basic Education Dr Reginah Mhaule last week during a media briefing announced that the reopening of schools would be delayed by two weeks.
“Cabinet has taken the decision to delay the reopening of both public and private schools with two weeks,” said Mhaule. She said that private schools that have reopened already will have to postpone their reopening to a later date.
Gauteng Education spokesperson, Steve Mabona said the MEC wants to understand what led the school to make the decision to reopen earlier.
“The purpose of MEC Lesufi’s visit is to establish reasons for the college’s action as this would be in correlation of the pronouncement by the Department of Basic Education to postpone the opening of schools to 15 February 2021 due to concerns over the increasing Covid-19 infections in the province,” said Mabona.
Mabona said the MEC would want to understand what transpired for the college to take such a decision. “The MEC would want to understand the actions taken by Helpmekaar college because on the face it looks like defiance,” said Mabona.
The Gauteng department has urged all schools to adhere to regulations put by government in efforts to save lives.
