The new school term has begun in South Africa. Still, many children are silently limping along – wounded by the disruptions and learning losses during the COVID pandemic. This could further broaden inequity in the South African schooling system. 

According to Professor Rouaan Maarman, Deputy Dean of Research in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the country needs urgent interventions to assist learners who suffered academically when online teaching was abruptly introduced. 
 

“Even privileged schools cannot argue that they experienced the same teaching and learning successes as they would have compared to face-to-face teaching. In my view, all learners suffered learning losses across the spectrum of development, whether academically, socially, and/or psychologically,” said Prof Maarman. 

He explained that the fragmented academic interaction and social isolation are set to have a long-term impact on learners. 

“I think that the lockdown schooling exposed and reaffirmed what we already knew about the challenges of our youth and schools – that inequality makes the journey to educating oneself a lot more difficult. Depending on which schools they attended, some learners may have more social challenges than others. Also, depending on their community, they may have been exposed to various social ills, while others dropped out of school altogether,” Prof Maarman continued. 

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There is hope that these learners can adapt to their new challenges, but they cannot do this alone. Programmes should be implemented to identify learners who find themselves on the back foot. But it is crucial that interventions should take place in consultation with teachers and school principals. He explained that one way to address the problems is to prioritise the fundamentals of good teaching and learning as well as the basics of all subjects.

Furthermore, Prof Maarman said the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) #backontrack campaigns must be underscored by tracking learners absent from school often. In such instances, parents should be involved in supporting their children’s academic progress. [LISTEN: Prof Maarman's thoughts on 'track-and-trace']

The WCED’s focus with the #backontrack campaign is on languages and mathematics, but Prof Maarman believes that one should not neglect Life Orientation, which helps learners with critical life values.

“Now more than ever, it is imperative to socially and psychologically stimulate learners to help them deal with the last three years, as well as to remind teachers, parents, and learners of what’s important for their educational futures,” he said. [LISTEN: Prof Maarman talks of Life Orientation's importance]

“We have a poor and rich schooling system within the one public schooling system, where experiences in these different settings are vastly different. It leads to many challenges, including the perpetual racialised schooling achievements. Quality education evades us in basic education: the basics of subjects are not mastered by the majority of learners in our country, and teachers are challenged, overworked, and undervalued.”

“Sadly, leadership in our schools is also a sore point as principals who do not improve schools cannot be replaced. A solution to this is a five-year term for principals, after which they have to re-apply or compete against other candidates for a second five-year term.”

Professor Rouaan Maarman, a previous programme co-ordinator and Head of Department of Educational Studies, is the current Deputy Dean for Research & Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Education. After qualifying as a teacher at UWC, Prof Maarman was a school teacher in the Eastern Cape for nine years, before joining academia in 2003.