As South African private and public schools gear up for the start of the 2021 academic year in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is a reality that things will be very different.
Many schools will be using additional measures to minimise the chance of learners contracting Covid-19.
The Northsider took some time to ask questions that are the most worrying and of the essence in terms of the local schools’ readiness and approach to the pandemic.
Crawford International Ruimsig Executive Head, Willem van Zyl reflected on their continued dedication to ensuring that the school’s world-class offering does not stop despite the circumstances we find ourselves in. These are the questions and Willem’s response to them.
• Do you prefer in-person or online education, and what do you believe to be the advantages of your preference?
“We prefer face-to-face teaching. We are not an online school; however, we can deliver the academic content in a very professional way with interaction online with our students, and the quality is superb.
“Face-to-face gives the learners the opportunity to interact, socialise and do extra-mural activities and be part of campus life. We love our learners and prefer to be in class with them.”
• Do you and the school feel prepared enough to receive learners on the school grounds and have them in classes, and do you feel it will be safe to have them back?
“Yes, we have all our safety protocols in place and we are confident that we will be able to keep the learners safe if all adhere to the rules and regulations.
“Teachers are well-equipped to manage the situation, ensure that face masks are worn, and remind learners to social-distance.
“All our sanitizing and temperature reading protocols are also well established.”
• In short, what is the school doing to ensure learners’ safety?
“We adhere to all gazetted legislation, and we motivate our staff and learners to adhere to all protocols.
• How many of each grade group will attend school every day?
“We anticipate that all our learners will be on campus on 1 February.”
• If you’ll be alternating school days for learners, will they be expected to do online coursework or homework on the days that they stay home?
“Those learners who cannot attend school for valid reasons will continue with our online offering, thereby ensuring that each learner gets the best possible opportunity to succeed academically this year.”
• In preparation of the possibility that schools might be closed again later in the year, will you be accelerating your teaching programme to get through most of the curriculum early in the year?
“No, we are comfortable with our excellent online offering and will be able to deliver quality education online or offline. We therefore do not foresee that we will accelerate the programme.”
