FACED with high pupil dropout rates and only three months in the school year, the department of basic education has a mammoth task to recoup lost time and meet the demands of the curriculum because of Covid-19 disruptions.
Today, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga is expected to host a media briefing on a plan to deal with the crisis.
The school drop out rate is the highest it has been in 20 years with as many as 500 000 pupils not in school according the latest National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM). The department of basic education said studies further showed that between 50% to 75% of the normal year’s worth of learning was lost in 2020.
This week the department’s ministers as well as three MECs from the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Free State were a no-show at the sitting of the National Council of Province’s select committee on education to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on education.
The absentees raised the ire of committee chairperson Elleck Nchabeleng.
“This is disappointing, our children are not in schools in some areas and this is the response we get,” he said.
“If the people we were trying to talk to about finding solutions are not willing to join us in those discussions, the impression it gives is that their interests and focus is elsewhere,” he said
Experts warn the education crisis would have long term effects.
Education expert at the University of Stellenbosch, Professor Nuraan Davids, said failure to implement and follow-up on catch-up programmes for pupils who have lost out on the curriculum would have dire consequences.
“Teachers already have poor infrastructure, full classrooms and now they have to possibly teach two years of an academic programme in one year. Most are not going to have the willingness to do that,” she said.
“We have not scratched the surface in understanding the impact (of missed schooling). A minority of our schools were able to transition easily and those are well resourced schools. But the majority of schools would have had no teaching or learning for most of last year and parts of this year.”
Davids said extended school closures and rotational school attendance were key drivers in drop-out rates.
“We are living in a context of immense unemployment and poverty and if you have a child sitting at home, there will be an inclination to want that child to earn some sort of living and the child most vulnerable is your girl learner. Last year all but one province had their ECDs closed for a very long time, that means moms go to work, someone has to take care of the young ones.
“We are told that 500 000 learners have dropped out but that figure is higher, probably looking at 750 000 to 800 000 because you are expecting schools to be functional enough to track learner attendance and that is not true. And if 500 000 learners are not at school, where are they? What is going to happen to them?
“Predominantly most learners drop out in Grade 7 or 10 but our education system is the problem which places this glorified status on Grade 12 and if you pass it you have achieved this marvellous thing and schools must be applauded but very little attention goes to what happens before that,” she added.
A community leader in Mfuleni Ali Doda said drop-out rates in his area were made worse by the fact that children are not in school daily.
“Drop-outs are not new, we have seen children leave school over the years for various reasons but this thing of children not going to school one day and going the next is driving up these numbers,” he said.
“Parents are not there to monitor that children leave for school every day, some spend a week at home unsupervised and that is where teenage pregnancies come up and those children end up staying at home permanently.
“We have a Grade 8 learner who is not at school right now because she did not have a report card from her previous school in the Eastern Cape. Now the school won’t take her and she’s sitting at home. It is sad what is happening to our children.”
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said while there were many reasons for drop-outs, Covid-19 has had an impact which is yet to be fully determined.
“The WCED has made a concerted effort to encourage learners to continue with their schooling. The return to traditional timetabling models and routine is thus important to create stability and ongoing learning. This will improve attendance across the board,” she said.
This week the Telkom Foundation said data from schools it supported showed that pupils in Grade 9 were struggling with maths and science during the pandemic.
“Regrettably, we have seen the negative impact of the pandemic – and the unavoidable closure of schools – has had on learning,” said the foundation’s chief executive Sarah Mthintso.
“Over the years, we have seen learner improvement as a result of this targeted hybrid approach. However with Covid-19 restrictions and learners missing contact learning time, some have regressed in key areas, particularly problem solving, algebra and measurement.
“Covid-19 has exposed a challenging and unequal education system ... and this exacerbated existing stark inequalities in South Africa.”