South African Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has said the last-minute announcement that the reopening of schools was postponed on Monday was because she had to consult principal associations and other stakeholders.

“I wish to apologise wholeheartedly for the inconvenience caused,” she said on Monday at the Sunrise View Secondary School in Rustenburg.

Grade 7 and 12 students were due to resume classes on Monday after staying at home for 10 weeks during the Covid-19 lockdown.

They are now due to return on June 8 as schools continue to implement safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The decision to postpone the reopening was taken during a meeting on Saturday where the Department of Basic Education received reports that many schools across the country were not prepared to start classes.

They hadn’t received supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) or the provision of water and sanitation facilities and staff hadn’t been trained to teach a modified curriculum.

“There were schools which were very ready and there were others that were not ready,” said Motshekga.

“As a result of those reports, as I say, we took a decision to say let’s use this week to mop up, but it’s a decision we took very late on Saturday when we had our final report,” she said.

“Provinces are now putting the shoulder to the wheel to ensure that all prerequisites not yet fulfilled will be delivered within the week of June 1.”

In a statement on Monday, teachers’ unions said Motshekga failed to update them on Sunday of the decision as promised and the date of June 8 wasn’t mentioned in their meetings with the department.

“The astounding confusion caused by the statement must be condemned because the Department of Basic Education is obsessed with dates and ignoring the evidence of provincial readiness. The lack of appreciation for evidence can only be characterized as irresponsible and negligent,” said unions Sadtu, Naptosa, PEU, NATU, and SAOU.