Parents split over proposal to scrap 2020 academic year

As more grades are being phased in, the conversation around schools reopening continues. Many parents still believe that the reopening of schools is a desperate ploy from the government to maintain some sort of normalcy in the country. Others believe that kids need a bit of normal in their lives. 

Also Read: ‘I cannot afford to homeschool’: Parents react to Grades R, 6 and 11 going back to school

South African Democratic Teachers Union general secretary Mugwena Maluleke has recommended that education minister Angie Motshekga should adjust the 2021 academic calendar. This means that the 2020 academic year should be scrapped completely as the government continues to fight the pandemic. 

Many parents are concerned about the effects of skipping school for the entire year will have on the mental health of their children. 

For moms like Leonora Chivell, the stress of going back to school and experiencing cases of Covid-19 is evident in her daughter in grade 11.

“I can see and feel that she is stressing a lot” Leonora shared. 

Children have already missed weeks of school content, and continuing with the academic year requires them to play catch up. For Lauren Hugo, this is unrealistic as it puts children under pressure to try and learn too much over a short period of time. The mental health effects also surface here, where average performers will most likely fail and feel, or even be labelled stupid. 

Other parents are against skipping the 2020 academic year, suggesting a middle ground instead.

“Whittle away all the unimportant stuff, go down to the absolute foundation and basics of what the kids should know at that age, and keep it at that,” Bronwen Bell suggests. 

“For academically inclined students, scrapping the year will be detrimental,” Looren Goosen shares. This statement is supported by Sean Van Staden who believes the department should continue feeding these young minds in order to invest in their futures. 

Many are arguing: which future? The uncertainties of our current world are making a lot of parents uneasy, who, on a daily basis, are watching the numbers increase. 

Be that as it may, the department is working on another strategy that will see more grades being phased in, and August will most likely see the reopening of schools for thousands of learners. 

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