100 days of lockdown: What has happened for parents?

If your children have not gone back to school yet, this means that you have officially been under lockdown with them for 100 days. This means they have been able to access you for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This constant access was mostly due to the changes inflicted by school closures.

A lot has happened as we moved from strict lockdown to advanced level 3.

So, let’s recap on what has happened.

School shutdown

After the official announcement of schools closing on 15 March 2020, children were no longer allowed to attend physical classes. Virtual learning became the new reality, but some children struggled as they lacked access to a device or internet.

Homeschooling became the norm

Parents became teachers, and real teachers were more appreciated and parents learned how challenging it can be. Millions of parents started accessing homeschooling tools. Many schools continued to play an active role in giving parents and students material that they can use to continue learning during the lockdown.

Schools reopened

Effective 1 and 8 June respectively, schools reopened for grades 8 and 12. The government chose these two grades because pupils would be either moving to high school next year, or an institution of higher learning. The announcement of the reopening was met with much criticism, but went on as planned.

Many parents are still adamant that they will not be sending their children to school, some choosing to deregister them from the 2020 academic year completely.

Also Read: Yes, I deregistered my toddler from school

School closures

In two weeks of reopening, Gauteng alone closed more than 50 schools due to Covid-19 infections. These schools suspended classes, tracked the virus, and some reopened after decontamination took place. To date, about 300 schools in the Western Cape have been closed down due to the coronavirus.

Also Read: 775 schools hit by Covid-19 across SA

More grades reopening on Monday

According to the initial announcement of the department of basic education (DBE), early childhood development (ECD) centers, grades, 1, 2, 3 6, 10, and 11 were all meant to reopen on 6 July 2020. On Thursday, the department made an announcement adjusting this strategy. Now, only grades, R, 10, and 11 will be reopening on Monday.

Also Read: Only grades R, 6 and 11 to return to school on Monday

Nothing yet on ECDs

The department of basic education made an announcement that the department of social development will be confirming the dates to reopen ECD centers. This has caused a lot of frustration and confusion as the DBE had announced that 6 July would be the reopening for ECD centers, later saying that they cannot speak on behalf of the department of social development. This is because they are responsible for early childhood development

Also Read: ECD centres and creche reopening: This is what we know so far

Karabo Mokoena is a wife, a girl mom, a writer and content creator. She is the Resident Contributor for Parenty and a Mommy Blogger, creating relatable parenting content for her blog Black Mom Chronicles. You can engage with her on her Instagram and Facebook pages. She is a Political Science graduate, who has worked in Human Resources for most of her professional career. She loves engaging with people, thus her choice to specialise in recruitment. She loves telling stories and sharing her life’s journey to brighten someone else’s day. 

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