Loadshedding, currently on stage five, has affected the day-to-day operations of various sectors including schools.
Provincial departments of education have too raised concerns over the impact of rolling blackouts on teachers and learners.
Malibongwe Mtima, spokesperson for Eastern Cape department of education, said because of loadshedding, they needed to plan ahead of time.
“When it comes to having practical classes for ICT [information and communications technology] and IT [information technology], we wait until electricity is back to proceed with classes and push the ones that do not require electricity to go as per usual. Loadshedding schedules play a huge role in how we conduct our classes,” said Mtima.
Mike Maringa, spokesperson of Limpopo department of education, told Sunday World that preliminary examinations are progressing well without any hindrance, despite loadshedding.
“We have the loadshedding schedules, classes are structured in such a way that the few that require electricity are allocated that space,” said Maringa.
In KwaZulu-Natal, learning has been badly impacted, according to the department spokesperson, Kwazi Mthethwa.
“Power outages are a concern for us as the department and remain an enemy to teaching and learning. We hope that it gets sorted for the sake of our learners,” said Mthethwa.
The SA Democratic Teachers Union spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi, said their concern is the effect on children who have to study at home. She said loadshedding is delaying the move toward a digital era in schools.
“Even commuting to school is a problem. When traffic lights are not working, it causes traffic jams, and this can cause late arrival of learners at schools. It really has a negative impact on education.”
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