School drop-outs due to Covid-19 pressures spark a concern

School drop-outs due to Covid-19 pressures spark a concern

Date Published: October 8, 2020

The coronavirus has had a lasting effect in the lives of many school learners. Due to the pressure of having to catch up with the school curriculum, a concerning amount of students have dropped out.

“Students are feeling overwhelmed” stated Sibongile Khumalo

The executive director of The Learning Trust, an organisation that provides funding and support to educational non-profits in the after-school sector, Sibongile Khumalo said: “The pressure on both teacher and learner at this time is immense. 

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) anticipated a dropout of 38000 Grade 7s and 18000 matrics, which is why immediate interventions are needed.”

Sibongile Khumalo also stated that the students are feeling overwhelmed and they need all the support they can get. He also stated that it will take a lot of after-school programmes to recover what has been lost in the education field. 

Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the attendance trends had been positive since schools reopened.

School attendance increased across all grades

Grade 3 attendance had increased from 41% to 71%, Grade 7 from 32% to 76% and Grade 12 from 44% to 87%. These numbers are based on learners at school physically. 

Hammond stated that while the original numbers seem very low, one must also note that attendance was staggered on certain days, making it very hard to calculate. Hammond also says that this made it difficult to figure out what the drop-out rate was.

She continued to mention that attendance rates do not include the students who are genuinely studying from home due to the fear of COVID-19.

Lower income communities, matric students are stressed

Mitchells Plain High principal Faiq Salie says that in lower income communities, matric students are stressed about whether or not they will be prepared for exams.

“Our schools are doing their utmost to complete the entire curriculum for Grade 12 learners and provide the necessary encouragement. I think that with the mock exams under way, matrics will gain confidence” , says Salie.

Teachers working from home amid Covid-19 pandemic, now summoned to report for duty

On 21 September 2020, all teachers were summoned by the Department of Basic Education(DBE) to return to work. Elijah Mhlanga, the spokesperson of the Department of Basic Education said that moving to alert level 1 means that there is a lower rate of infections.

Mhlanga says that the risk for teachers is much lower. All educators who were given the concession to work from home were summoned to go back to work.

“Affected people will therefore have to report for duty with effect from today. If, however, some individuals are still not well, they are advised to follow the normal sick leave protocols.” – says Elijah Mhlanga

Author: Omega Fumba