Dear <<First Name>>,

Angie Motshekga and Blade Nzimande's plans for the re-opening of schools and universities have left us with plenty of questions.

Firstly, final-year medical students are returning to campuses (to ensure they graduate and can enter the public health system), so we spoke with students who want to know: what safety precautions will be taken? Story coming soon to The Daily Vox. 

Another question: as learners are phased back into schools, how can social distancing be maintained in schools that usually have 40-50 children to a classroom? [LINK]

A final bigger question: now that the government is having to re-think every aspect of our education system, are there going to be any changes for the better? Is the goal back to 'normal', when 'normal' meant bad infrastructure, outdated curricula, and poor outcomes? Or, as one expert suggested to me this week – isn't this an opportunity to re-imagine what education could look like for young South Africans?

These were some of the questions I sat with on Thursday night as I went through the ministers' briefing (while trying to break my fast – press briefings that take place at the time of iftar are no fun).

Last week I asked how you were doing in all of this. I'd still like to hear from you. If you have a story about life under a lockdown or a proposal for what we should be happening at schools and campuses. Email me or ping @fatimamoosa17 on Twitter. (I look forward to hearing from you)

In solidarity,

Fatima Moosa,
The Daily Vox

Top of the Vox

With Blade Nzimande's announcement that final year medical students would be returning to campuses, we spoke to students about their reactions. Students are scared that there isn't good enough risk-mitigated plan in place. 

Read the original story here about the final-year medical students concerned about their academic year. Two weeks students told us they were afraid of losing the academic year. But they also don't want to lose their lives, working in unsafe conditions. 

School children will not be going back to school before it is absolutely safe, the minister said. Well, what other solutions are there to ensure the school year is saved? We spoke to several educational experts about the best way forward for schools. Read it here. 

And in non-coronavirus news, one of our most-read stories this week was a piece from 2018 by Shaazia Ebrahim about why no one should be having an opinion about a woman's decision to wear or not to wear make-up. Check it out there. 

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