Higher education in South Africa worsens as COVID-19 hits the country.
Reopening of schools in South Africa
After postponing the June 1 schedule, finally, schools in South Africa has opened the doors to its students, last week. With over two months since the lockdown was imposed in the country and schools were closed, students can finally get back to physical classes.
During the reopening of schools in South Africa last June 8, students were introduced to proper sanitation protocols while in school. Hugging, shaking of hands, and kissing was prohibited as part of social distancing guidelines.
Though students appreciate seeing their classmates after more than two months of being physically apart from each other, they have mixed emotions in not being able to hug them and having problems chatting with their masks on.
According to a headmaster of one of the schools in South Africa that reopened last June 8, it is hard to monitor students every now and then.
Looking after every kid seems to be an impossible task. Every now and then, a student lowers his/her mask when talking, and sometimes they do forget about the no physical contact policy.
Higher Education in South Africa
Long before COVID-19, the status of higher education in South Africa is already a big question mark. With the lack of proper allocation of government funding in education, the poor get more disadvantaged even more.
In South Africa, most government-funded education programs are accessed by students who are financially capable. A scenario that makes poor and financially incapable families from sending their children to school. In a recent education report, for everyone financially capable out of school child, five poor children aren’t attending school.
With the tremendous effect of COVID-19 in the economy, almost 80 percent of South African workers were out of jobs as of the moment. This brings to the conclusion that affected families will have a harder sending their children to school, which will then result in a huge gap in the country’s education system.
As the COVID-19 situation remains unpredictable, the question would be: How will higher education in South Africa survive this pandemic and ensure a future for the country to look forward to.
