Losing an academic year is untenable, but a return to class must be safe and all learners must benefit
The past few weeks since schools reopened, after being closed to prevent the spread for the coronavirus, have seen teachers, parents and learners protest for schools to remain closed. Their posters read “Childrens’ lives matter”, “We are not collateral damage”, “We can’t teach from our graves” and “#TeachersLivesMatter”. Many have joined the debate on social media platforms over whether the academic year should continue or not.
This can be illustrated by looking at the entry and exit grades. About 1.2-million learners have been entering grade 1 each year since 2016. If the 2020 academic year is not completed, this year’s 1.2-million learners will return to grade 1 in 2021. But a new batch of 1.2-million learners would be starting grade 1 in 2021, doubling the numbers of learners.
Moreover, it is unlikely that calls to stop the reopening of schools would, if entertained, apply to all learners in the system. Schools and learners with sufficient resources have been able to continue learning remotely and return to the classroom as soon as it was possible. These learners are unlikely to repeat their academic year.
The subtitle of the current macroeconomic strategic plan of South Africa reads: “Our future — make it work.” Fundamentally this explains simply what ubuntu means in sociological terms; we are, what we are. We are in this together; no matter how unequal we are in this togetherness, we continue to inhabit the same spaces and our lives have consequences for the lives of others — good or bad.
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