Children in South Africa began returning to classrooms on Monday as part of a gradual loosening of restrictions imposed under a months-long Covid-19 lockdown in the continent’s most industrialised nation.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Sunday that ramped up efforts to equip schools over the past week meant that 95 percent of South Africa’s primary and secondary schools were now able to host classes.
Many of South Africa’s government schools are in poor shape, particularly in rural areas, and analysts say that a quarter of them have no running water, making hand-washing nearly impossible.
Government officials, however, worry further delaying a return to classrooms would mean a generation of school children risks losing a key part of their education, and the future opportunities it brings.
The shutdown has exposed deep divisions - between black and white, rich and poor - that persist in South Africa’s education system a quarter century after the end of minority white rule.
