PETITION RELATING TO SCHOOL SPORT REGULATIONS GOVERNED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION.

INTRODUCTION

The Constitution of the Republic of South [section 56 (d) & 69 (d)] makes allowance for citizens to present petition to the National Assembly of the Parliament of South Africa.

Petitions are part of the accepted public participation in law making, oversight and other processes of Parliament.

Parliament outlines the procedures for presenting a general public petition, of which will be followed in this specific petition.

PURPOSE OF THE PETITION

To request that the Honourable Mrs Angelina Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education, and the Honourable Dr Zwelini Mkhize, Minister of Health to:

-          In relation to school sport in the Republic:

1.       To no longer, apply universal and singular regulations to all schools pertaining to the participation in, and resumption of, school sport and extra-curricular activities during the State of Disaster in relation to Covid-19. These amount to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, which, we request, cannot continue.

2.       Withstanding (1) above, to apply new regulations and interventions on sport participation and extra-curricular activities that are based on outbreaks, clusters and actual Covid-19 positive case reports in schools within specific municipal or educational Districts. This is to be done on the same basis that the President, the Honourable Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, has done on previous occasions with the alert levels for different areas based of the monitoring of Covid-19 infections in specific areas. The Department of Basic Education & Health officials in those districts/circuits make the decision in respect to this with the relevant Head of Department.  

3.       To make decisions on interventions based on investigated and documented active Covid-19 cases in the schools within specific districts and not generalised and over-cautious quarantines by schools where no Covid-19  direct contact tracing has taken place.

4.       To continue with (and if necessary re-instate) the Gazetted regulations (at time of writing 20/05/2021) issued in respect of Government Gazette No. 44339 allowing all school sport and extra-curricular activities to resume, subject to the Covid-19 protocols documented in the said Gazette, and… the inclusion of new regulations requested in point (2) above.

The signatories to this petition request the above to be urgently considered by the Honourable Ministers.