An eminent professor of economics at Stellenbosch University has urged the department of basic education to reopen schools as soon as possible, in the interests of pupils.
Servaas van der Berg said “being out of school is bad for children mentally, psychologically and socially, and undermines their long-term academic and economic prospects”.
He was reacting to a recommendation by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) that the reopening of schools be postponed from January 27 to February 15 because of the spike in Covid-19 infections.
Education stakeholders, including school governing body associations, teacher unions and the National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations (Naisa), met with senior officials from the department of basic education on Wednesday night.
Ebrahim Ansur, secretary-general of Naisa, comprising nine member associations representing 1,400 independent schools, said the NCCC recommended the department consult stakeholders to share the view that all schools should delay reopening until February 15.
“The NCCC was deeply concerned about the pressure on health-care facilities given the rapid increase arising from the second wave of Covid-19, with Gauteng, Limpopo and other provinces entering their peak now and with high numbers expected for a few weeks thereafter.”
Ansur said the director-general of basic education, Mathanzima Mweli, clarified that the recommendations must still be ratified by cabinet and signed off by minister Angie Motshekga.
The department met the NCCC on Thursday and will then report to cabinet, where a final decision will be taken.
For those who are calling for schools to remain closed, what is the reason why other professionals and workers have to go back to work but teachers don't?
— Researcher Nic Spaull
Private schools that opened this week will have a few days to induct new pupils until the date for the official opening is announced.
Stellenbosch University researcher Nic Spaull said: “For those who are calling for schools to remain closed, what is the reason other professionals and workers have to go back to work, but teachers don’t? Teachers are not at higher risk compared to health-care workers or those in transport or service industries.”
He said there were no data showing schools increase infections. “Transmission is primarily happening in the community rather than at schools. Schools have been closed for the last two months and yet infections have soared.”
He said some researchers were saying it would take 10 years to get back to the pre-Covid-19 trend in educational outcomes.
“We simply cannot let 2021 be a repeat of 2020 when it comes to school closures and learning losses. The impacts on children, their learning, their nutrition and their wellbeing is already incredibly high and will be even higher if we do not find a way of reopening schools with proper, non-pharmaceutical interventions.”
Recently retired dean of education at the University of the Witwatersrand, Prof Felix Maringe, said last year’s “missed curriculum” would remain missed as other aspects of the curriculum would take precedence.
“For the foreseeable future and in the context of the uncertainty around Covid-19, bringing normality to the current school curriculum would be difficult.”
Prof Labby Ramrathan, of the school of education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), said there was still a lot of uncertainty about the reopening of schools.
“There may be more recommendations [on the reopening of schools] that will be made by different constituencies depending on how the infection rate plays out in the next two weeks.”
Naisa chair Mandla Mthembu said while they understood and were sensitive to the urgency and need to save lives, “and the lives of our children and staff, we need to also consider the impact of indefinite delays of reopening independent schools, given we rely on revenue generated through school fees to keep teachers employed, earning a living and supporting families”.
“We do not want to see one more teacher being retrenched. It is therefore, once again, our appeal that the government, when considering postponing the reopening of schools, apply its mind to how we can keep independent schools going.”
He said online programmes were not as effective as face-to-face teaching and learning, and that the majority of independent schools could not afford such programmes.
“A position taken last year by the cabinet, where independent schools were allowed to continue, would be more desirable.”
In a working paper published in November, Prof Ursula Hoadley, of the school of education at the University of Cape Town (UCT), argued that the impact of Covid-19 on the curriculum led to learning losses that were vast, “but impossible to accurately measure”.
“One of the key challenges facing curriculum recovery in 2021 will be the high levels of variability in coverage carried over from 2020 in schools,” the report stated.
One of its recommendation was that school timetabling needed possible revision.
“The rotational model had a devastating impact on instructional time. Every effort should be made to get all learners and teachers back to school daily.”
Motshekga is hosting a media briefing on Friday morning on the reopening of schools.
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