There is no doubt that South Africa’s education system has been struggling over the past few decades.
Socio-economic and political factors have continued to form a barrier that prevents the country’s most vulnerable children from accessing quality education, thereby limiting future opportunities.
A 2019 report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked South Africa last out of 148 countries in terms of maths and science education.
While this was dismissed by many as not accurately reflecting the quality on the ground, it is evident there are major challenges related to the country’s functional literacy and numeracy.
The school structures themselves are not always functional.
According to a 2015 report from the Department of Basic Education, 452 schools have no electricity‚ 913 have no water, and 128 schools have no sanitation facilities.
In addition, 4 773 schools have unreliable water supply, 2 854 have unreliable electricity and 10 419 schools have pit latrines.
While these numbers might have dropped somewhat, they are still drastically high and pose a real danger to teachers and staff.
The impact of Covid-19
It is against this backdrop that the world is now experiencing a global pandemic which – alongside the incredible health risks – is going to further jeopardise the educational future of so many children.
The Department of Basic Education has opted for a phased-in approach, starting with key grades – 7 and 12 – returning to school first, followed by other grades over time.
While measures were implemented during the higher phases of the lockdown to allow for some form of distance learning to take place, the reality is that the majority of South Africa’s children are not able to access education this way, and so very little learning was happening – if any.
Children need to be in the classrooms, but the reality of the growing viral rate in South Africa is now becoming evident.
Just a week into the reopening of schools, the Gauteng Department of Education has already reported that 67 schools in the province have had to close because of positive cases of Covid-19.
In KwaZulu-Natal – the province with the most schools countrywide – 14 schools have reported cases of Covid-19.
While water tankers have been dispatched to schools without running water, there are still many that have not reopened because they do not meet the basic standards required for health and safety.
And, even those schools that have reopened are having to continue without teachers who are older than 60 years, or suffering from co-morbidities.
Many children, too, with co-morbidities will not be able to return to school for some time.
Because of South Africa’s early hard lockdown measures, we are fairly unique in reopening our economy as the infection rate spikes.
This means our schools will continue to suffer more and more disruptions as the infection rate climbs and the virus spreads.
What this means for South African education
Although many organisations – Unicef, Unesco and WHO – are calling for the reopening of schools, and it’s fair to say education for the majority will only happen in classrooms, the quality of education that is being constantly disrupted could be impacted.
Although the Department of Basic Education is entering unprecedented waters, each phase will need to be constantly evaluated and decisions made.
Alongside the phased-in approach, some other options have been considered. These include reopening schools for key grades only – Grades 1, R, 7 and 12 – and offering a condoned pass to all other grades.
This allows for the children to move onto the next grade, but will require some form of catch-up in the new year.
There are likely to be more disruptions as the school year progresses, and whatever strategy is adopted, it’s vital that no children are left behind because of the pandemic.
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