When South Africa entered into a national lockdown, schools had already closed for the term. no one expected the cases to worsen as its happened. The pandemic has disrupted the livelihoods of many. The resolutions and objectives people had when the year started now seem shattered as there are many people who have lost lives due to the coronavirus. Despite the growing numbers of infections schools are reopening. Instead of looking for alternatives of addressing the education system families are faced with the worst. Teachers and learners are going back to school with no uncertainty as to what will happen after the pandemic. Those who want to further their studies worry if they will qualify for enrolment at tertiary institutions in 2021.
In the communities and families we come from there are many expectations for children. They want learners to do well at school and excel in their lives but due to the pandemic learners need support from us as the community.
Many schools closed because learners and teachers tested positive for the virus. This means that the academic calendar is being affected. Learners have to find all other means to cover up for lost time even though this seems highly impossible. Learners fear failing and losing lives or losing those they are close to.
Learners do not need pressure from those they live with. Instead they need all the support they can get. As much as they are still under the care of guardians they need to be supported and heard as well. Parents and guardians should play a role helping learners to get used to certain routines so that they don’t lose their minds. Parents need to listen to the concerns of their children and sometimes give them space to do what they want provided it is for a good cause. Learners must be accountable and must be given certain responsibilities at home as this will assist in keeping them on track.
Learners are facing a lot of challenges at the moment including some of their parents losing their jobs. At the same time they are expected to perform excellently. Some learners are supposed to use this year’s results for tertiary applications. This is during a period where the pandemic has wreaked havoc, with the amount of coronavirus cases recorded in the country being higher each day. If in the previous years the struggle for 100% pass rate was difficult, particularly in public schools, given they had all the time and sometimes went to camps and had extra classes, how then is the class of 2020 supposed to attain better and excellent results based on all the challenges we have now?
This article was submitted on 11 August 2020. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
