Keep your anxieties about schools reopening to yourself

With the announcement of schools reopening, the opinions are flying in and flying in fast.

Government is apparently irresponsible and there is no thought process in it all. This from the very same parents who want extended exercising times, surfing to be recognised as exercise, and for the ban of cigarettes and alcohol to be lifted.

But all these measures are necessary to flatten the curve of Covid-19 infections in South Africa. A clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist, who is widely recognised for his research contributions to HIV prevention and treatment, said “stay home” – and as he explained the curve protocols, we applauded. But now his word no longer carries the same weight…

Reactions are bound to be emotional. When one considers that there is no conclusive proof that children are not carriers of the virus, to go back to school is a risk – but a part of me felt when the basic education minister said school was important that she was 100% correct. Correct because, for some children, school is safer than home.

A part of my heart shattered when she emphasised that the longer schools remained closed, the greater the disruption of essential schooling services, such as feeding schemes and medical services like vaccinations, mental health and psychosocial support.

While I can afford to pay for my child to repeat a grade, another parent may not be able to.

While I have the means to provide a safe home environment, what of child-headed households that go to Reholegile Secondary School in Limpopo for breakfast and lunch and the opportunity to consult with the school counsellor?

The minister reminded us that in 2010, during the teachers’ strike, most pupils did not return to school, particularly from poorer households.

We have different means to provide, we have different fears, but we must not think and react in isolation.

This is what I am learning. What’s next is for every parent to take a decision without shaming the next.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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