​Rofhiwa Marubini-Tshitahe 
The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) in conjunction with the National Coronavirus Command Council and Cabinet, has decided to delay the reopening of both public and private schools by two weeks.
This announcement was made  on Friday 15 January 2021 by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhaule, during a media briefing on the Basic Education sector plans for the opening of schools for the 2021 academic year.
Pupils will now return to the classroom on 15 February and not 27 January as originally planned.
The decision was taken after teachers' unions, parents and experts had raised concerns about children heading back to school while the country battled to contain a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
According to Dr Mhaule, the new dates for the reopening of private schools will vary depending on the calendar that they follow. For public schools and private schools which follow the same calendar, changes are as follows:
The School Management Teams (SMTs) will return on  25 January 2021 to prepare for the return of teachers, the teachers will return on  01 February 2021 to prepare for the return of learners and the learners will then return on Monday, 15 February 2021.
Deputy Minister Mhaule  added that the department will work closely with all nine Provincial Education departments, to establish the true extent of the impact of the virus, resulting from the unfortunate demise of educators, workers and leaders in the sector, especially during the December / January holidays.