Africa-Press – Eswatini. The ministry of education and training’s announcement of the postponement of opening of schools has left parents fuming, accusing the ministry of causing chaos and disruption.
Minister Lady Howard-Mabuza issued a statement yesterday notifying the public of the rescheduling of the reopening of the Third Term, which had already been rescheduled last week in what the ministry had insisted was to give maidens attending the Umhlanga Reed Dance enough time to travel back to their respective homes after taking part in Monday’s main day. Schools were initially scheduled to open yesterday, so the ministry shifted this by a day. Interestingly, parents had been unhappy with the move and criticised the ministry for not postponing the opening to the following week.
It is based on this that yesterday’s reaction to the announcement of the second postponement of the opening of schools left parents upset at what they termed a last-minute decision that totally disorganised their plans.
Announcing that schools will now open next Tuesday the minister said the postponement came after extensive consultations with various stakeholders in education, who advised on allowing proper logistic purposes in support of this deferment. She urged all learners to take this time to work on their studies and revise all the material from the past term.
“Parents are also encouraged to assist their children by allowing a conducive environment for education at home,” she said. Mabuza also urged all teachers to put in extra effort in this final term to ensure that things return to normalcy by 2023. “In addition, the ministry would like to thank all the teachers who are working tirelessly to recover lost instructional time due to school closures,” Mabuza said.
Apologised
She further apologised to parents, teachers and the nation at large for any inconveniences caused by the postponement.
However, this has not sat well with members of the public, many of whom took to their social media platforms to vent their frustrations while many also used this publication’s Facebook page to complain that the announcement was at short notice and had thrown their preparations into chaos. Some users stated that their children were already on their way to various destinations so that they were closer to their schools.
One of the Facebook users questioned why the ministry would make such announcement at the eleventh hour as they have children who are in boarding schools and they were already on their way to their schools. Meanwhile, Samkelo Dlamini, who is the Chairman of the Swaziland Association of School Administrators (SASA), said the ministry should be forthright with information, not to wait till the last minute to disseminate it.
Dlamini said the ministry should have adjusted the schools calendar accordingly to accommodate the Umhlanga ceremony to avoid the confusion that had been caused by the late postponement.
“What is painful is that the ministry keeps quiet and at the last minute they release information that schools are postponed without considering the inconveniences that may be caused (by the late communication),” Dlamini said. He called on the ministry to liaise with the ministry of home affairs on the dates and alert stakeholders on time about any changes that may occur.
“We have pupils who are already in schools, dropping off their children and now they have to go back home, which is an inconvenience,” Dlamini said.
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