It’s better home than school

23 June 2020
Klerksdorp – Jouberton Township
Tshepo Mmusi

National lockdown has been in effect for the past three months and it continues to be extended for more months to come. Many children have since not attending school and they needed to have something to do in order to keep busy.

After the department of education has announced that grade 7 and 12 pupils should return to school on the 8th of June 2020, it left a larger fraction of learners out of school. Despite efforts made by the department to ensure that it puts plans in place that learners who are home have options to can have access to education through media that seems to not working because learners are used to be monitored and be guided every-time they learn. On the other hand parents are not trained to ensure that they guide their children and to ensure that they stick to their daily studies.

This situation leaves learners who are left home vulnerable to drugs and crime. Most of them have created a daily routine as they are home and have come to like their daily reality than being at school. I managed to talk to two of the learners who are home and they have not shown interest to go back to school because they have been home for a long time and have even forgot what they have been taught since January 2020. They prefer waking up in the morning to play soccer, later on hang around street corners and tuck shops in groups and go back home in the afternoon or evening. When doing so they do not maintain social distancing and wearing their face mask.

Another worrying factor is the grade 7 and 12 learners who come back from school after being sanitised and maintaining social distancing at school coming home and play together with those who have been left home. They are at risk of being exposed to be infected by those do not take precaution.