Parents, you have a duty to your kids

While home-based education is the best option for some parents in urban areas, many in rural areas do not have this option, says Siyabulela Fobosi, education researcher at Rhodes University’s Public Service Accountability Monitor (Psam).

Fobosi says this means that “schools must accommodate parents’ and guardians’ varying capacities, and provide comprehensive supportive materials”.

He said government’s directive that schools go on early recess to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus further proves the need to ensure that schools are equipped with e-learning facilities so that pupils continue studying at home.

He said Psam supported government’s decision that schools go on early recess.

Governments in 119 countries around the world, he said, had closed education institutions to contain the pandemic.

He said the effect of a lack of e-learning materials would be felt by those who don’t have access.

“The schools and universities that already have these facilities are likely to perform better during this time than those without.

“Currently, Unisa remains the largest open distance e-learning university in Africa, with more than 300 000 students enrolled.

“Through e-learning, teachers adopt technology as a teaching pedagogy by using online resources to enhance pupils’ educational development. Through e-learning, pupils make use of electronic technologies to access educational curriculums outside of the classroom.

“In considering the move towards e-learning in a time of Covid-19, governments across the world need to examine the high costs of data, which continue to constitute a barrier to accessing information.

“Access to information and communication technologies in schools is particularly divided between those who have access to the internet and those who do not,” Fobosi said.

He said parents who registered their children for home schooling had a duty to keep educating their children through the school shutdown.

“Parents who chose home-based education for their children have a huge responsibility of taking their children’s education into their own hands. These parents need to prepare and be willing to make time for their kids.

“Moreover, such parents may not have access to the same resources that schools do, for instance, practically demonstrating a chemistry experiment may require a lot more effort and money than it would in a traditional school with a fully equipped science lab.”

Msindisi Fengu Journalist | City Press

+27 11 713 9001 Msindisi.Fengu@citypress.co.za Media Park, 69 Kingsway Road, Auckland Park

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