‘Use Covid-19 crisis to reform education’ suggests CDE
PARKTOWN – The CDE observes that strong measure will have to be implemented if reopening schools will succeed amidst Covid-19.
The Centre for development and enterprise (CDE) shared a report regarding the opening of schools. In the report titled, Are we asking the right questions about re-opening schools? The report looks at the complex issues which need to be taken into account when deciding how, when, and if to reopen schools.
The report acknowledges that Covid-19 has had an extremely disruptive impact on education around the world, and South Africa is no exception. There are several challenges that come as a result, ranging from food distress in the short term to widening inequality in the long term.
“Given the negative effects of extended school closures on individual children and on society as a whole, the reopening of schools is rightly considered a priority, especially since the risk of infection and death for children is very low. Yet schooling cannot resume if safety precautions have not been provided to learners and school staff alike,” the report suggests.
It further suggests that the government must speed up the provision of these measures to ensure that school communities are kept safe and healthy as this is not a small task. The department needs to report to the public, parents, learners, and parliament on what is happening in each province and school district.
In addition, plans need to be made and communicated to all education stakeholders, including learners and parents, about what will happen if the virus surfaces at a given school. For those learners who will not be restarting school activities on 1 June, other forms of non-traditional learning need to be ramped up.
The report further observes that digital learning is clearly not a panacea in light of South Africa’s socio-economic realities. It suggests that, “Printed materials and other supplementary forms of learning, such as radio, could be the best alternative. Learners who will be staying home need to be able to go to school to safely collect textbooks and other learning materials, as well as food. Online education processes, practices, and pedagogies are set to increase, adapt, and improve around the world.”
According to the CDE report, “The challenge in South Africa is that the education system performs at a very low level, which was apparent long before the pandemic. Unless we address the fundamental causes of this underperformance, any attempt to add online teaching methods into the mix will inevitably fail.
“It is critical therefore that we use this crisis to re-energize a broader drive to reform the education system. As the World Bank put in a report on policy responses to the Covid-19 shock, ‘The drive for better education must start now’.”
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