Primary school pupils back in class full time after losing about 70% of learning By Chulumanco Mahamba Share Johannesburg - After more than a year of attending school on a rotational basis, primary school learners are back to full-time attendance this week. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) reverted to full-time attendance on Monday after projections of the NIDS-CRAM Wave 5 report indicated that between March 2020 and June 2021, most primary school learners lost 70-100% of learning. DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga visited Kabelo Primary School in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni on Monday to monitor the first day of the return at full capacity. “It’s a complex environment and we know there are some concerns around social distancing and what will happen. This is big because we haven’t seen all learners in class since March last year, so we needed to create an environment where schools that are able to return all learners at the same time can do that,” he said.