Don’t leave poor pupils out in the cold

The news that the government is preparing to open up schools in a phased, controlled manner as the coronavirus lockdown eases, is heartening.

Pupils have already lost a significant number of days of teaching and, useful as electronic teaching may have been in plugging some gaps, there is no substitute for a teacher in front of a class.

In the plans for the reopening, there are some good intentions. Schools will have strict rules on the screening of pupils and staff, there will be sanitation measures and social distancing will be enforced in the classroom. The government is taking matters of safety so seriously that it has a team of lawyers advising on the protocols, in the awareness that the authorities could be held legally accountable in the event infection is not adequately prevented and people get ill or die.

However, there are still valid concerns that the education department jumped the gun yesterday in revealing its draft plans to reopen schools. Initially, it was said that Grade 12 and Grade 7 pupils would be back at the desks as early as next week. Later, this was amended to a date two weeks later … from 17 May.

It is clear that poor schools will, again, suffer because of their lack of access to the sanitation facilities needed for anti-virus hygiene, not to mention their bad and overcrowded facilities, as well as the inability of parents to afford protective gear, like masks, for their children.

These matters cannot simply be addressed in a matter of days – and the government’s threat that schools which do not comply with the rules on safety and social distancing will not be allowed to open is, once again, emphasising the differences between our schools.

Our children deserve the best start in life and we must not let this crisis deprive them of that.

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