03 Feb 2021

Education and health authorities have overturned the district emergency operation team and Matshekge Hill Senior School management‘s decision  to close the school from today until February 22.

   The team and school management had taken the decision to close the institution yesterday following a spike in COVID-19 positive cases.

“We have since been advised by the regional director education, and the public health services director that we do not have the authority to close the school, we can rather suspend normal learning within the school,” greater Selebi Phikwe region coordinator, Mr Mpaphi Mbulawa states in a message.

He said the resolution was  therefore to let the day scholars stay at home and the boarders to remain at the school hostels.

“This therefore means that it will not be possible to isolate day scholars at the school hostels,” he explained.

According to the school head, Mr James Butale, initially, the plan had been to isolate all learners who had tested positive  in the school hostels because all isolation facilities in greater Selebi Phikwe region were fully occupied.

The only other option had been to transport the new positive cases to Matsiloje isolation facility where deputy district commissioner, Ms Angelinah Leano had indicated there was an acute shortage of blankets.

As a result, some patients ended up self-isolating at home which posed a challenge as some released themselves before they could be cleared of COVID-19. 

The decision to close the school was taken after COVID-19 tests conducted Tuesday yielded 50 positive cases.

Of the 50 cases, 45 are pupils and five staff members.

 On Monday, 10 learners and seven teaching and non-teaching staff members had tested positive through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, but the numbers shot up following a decision to conduct rapid antigen tests. 

It has since been decided that every member of the school community will be tested through rapid antigen test.

Mr Butale indicated that by Tuesday, 396 out of a total of 690 Form Fives and 31 members of staff were quarantined.

He said 42 other pupils and six staff members were on self-isolation.

Owing to the huge numbers of members of the school community either on isolation or quarantine, Mr Butale said there was basically no teaching and learning taking place at the facility.

 For his part, Mr Mbulawa said the situation at the school called for drastic action in order to “safeguard the welfare of learners and those facilitating learning”. 

“It became apparent that the situation needed urgent and critical intervention,” said Mr Mbulawa who added that the number of positive cases at the school was spiraling out of control.ends