By Humairaa Mayet
A national Covid-19 school curriculum recovery plan was drafted and leaked last week. The plan claimed that pupils in grades 7 and 12 could be the first to return to school on 6 May, while students in grades 6 and 11 could return to school on 20 May. All remaining grades could be expected to return to school sometime in June and July.
It is possible that much of the information contained in the document was fake news.
A press conference that was set to be held today to discuss the school curriculum by Angie Motshekga, South Africa’s Minister of Basic Education, was postponed.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) urged the importance of safety and stated that “corpses can neither be taught nor can they teach”.
Registered Educational Psychologist, Dr. Ken Resnick, spoke to Salaamedia’s Azhar Vadi.
Resnick explained that the reopening of schools would be accompanied by a multitude of complications and emphasised the need for extreme caution to be exercised by all parties involved. Although the coronavirus tends to affect the immunocompromised and older segments of the population, and there have been very few fatalities among children, one must understand that many children in South Africa suffer from malnutrition and various other ailments.
Online learning has made visible many asymmetries. The majority of the population is living in poverty without access to technology, and this will result in these children being severely disadvantaged once the school year resumed. Online schooling is not entirely efficient as many parents cannot assist their children and there is a lack of interaction and stimulation.
Psychologically, the minds of young children will not be especially affected by the virus, Resnick claimed. This is due to the fact that young children cannot comprehend abstract concepts. He emphasised the importance of parents displaying a calm demeanour in front of their children and not stressing them out by panicking. Certainly, with tensions at an unparalleled high in many homes around the country, the mental health of children is of utmost importance.
It is likely that many schools will not be prepared to reopen. Certain schools across the country make use of pit latrines and do not have access to running water – oftentimes children must walk several kilometres to reach a water source. Even with masks, many factors work against the reopening of schools, and stringent measures must be implemented to allow children to access all that they need to continue with the school year.
Featured image via FreePik.
