Basic education minister Angie Motshekga on Sunday announced that 95% of schools in the country were ready to reopen on Monday.

Motshekga was addressing the country on the state of readiness for the reopening of schools.

The reopening of schools for grade 7s and matrics was initially expected to resume on June 1 but was postponed for a week as many schools weren’t ready.

Motshekga said on Sunday it would have been premature and unsafe to open schools last week.

“We can now say with confidence that about 95% of our schools have been ably provided with the Covid-19 related imperatives. The sector, with the assistance of our partners, will strive to deal with the remaining 5% to ensure that the unfettered rights to health, safety and basic education for all SA children are protected,” she said.

Motshekga assured the country that schools that do not meet health and safety requirements would not open.

'The golden rule is, there will be no school that will resume if not ready to do so. For the remaining 5% or so learners, alternative measures have been developed by different districts such as temporarily using neighbouring schools, using underutilised spaces in boarding schools and putting other learners in camps,” she said.

She assured the country that schools with disabled children would be catered for differently and no pupil would be left out.

Motshekga said teaching and learning programmes provided online would continue and parents who are uneasy about sending their children back to school, must follow the law to ensure that their children’s right to basic education was unhindered.