Education cannot return to the way it was before the Pandemic

Education cannot and must not return to the way it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. It must learn from the lessons of the last two years of the crisis to build an education system that is resilient to deal with future crises, a system that is re-imagined and transformed to be fit for a post-pandemic world.

The Kagiso Trust Education Conversation, held in partnership with the University of Johannesburg at the end of April, deliberated on the theme of “Education Post the Covid-19 Pandemic”, with experts, teachers and academics sharing their experiences and plans. The Conversation focused on three key questions: How have the teachings of the pandemic guided us towards a new normal and the possibilities it offers? How has lockdown changed the dynamics of teaching and learning? Are we any closer to transforming education for a constantly changing world?

“How do we transcend and learn from the past, and what we’ve been through?” asked convenor Prof Kat Yassim of the UJ Faculty of Education. “Most importantly, how do we continue with learning, no matter the crisis, no matter the circumstances? The floods in KZN have shown that there are crises we need to be prepared for. We cannot lose a generation of learners.”

For Kgomotso Ramagolo, a physical and natural sciences teacher, the pandemic came at a time when she was starting out her career as a new teacher. She spoke on making the transition from online to contact learning. ”I didn’t have a chance to practice (in the classroom) and was thrust into the online teaching space,” she said, saying the various hard lockdowns and shutdowns of schools impacted the mental health of her learners.

“There were huge socialisation issues,” said Ramagolo. After the final transition back to classrooms in September last year, learners hardly seemed enthusiastic. Some didn’t want to be there and were out of their element. Some students refused to engage with me in lessons. They didn’t want to engage with me or each other.

“Students struggled to be back on campus. Some had panic and anxiety attacks. There were other issues such as substance abuse, etc, and some still refused to come back to school when it was mandatory. I had to redefine my entire pedagogy. I needed to transition and think about my students who needed to transition.

“I’m not looking at post-pandemic because we are still in the pandemic, but we cannot slip back into the way things were. The pandemic propelled the system into ways of learning they were already heading towards.”

Lotus Phukubje, a district director looking after 66 schools in the Maleboho west circuit in Limpopo, said school principals needed to show “learning agility” if they are to halt what Unicef has called the “Covid-slide”, which is the amount of learning loss that has happened since the pandemic struck.

“Unicef have said that the Covid-19 related education loss is near ‘insurmountable’, with some South African children almost a full school year behind where they should be,” said Phukubje.

“The effects of Covid-19 should be used as a catalyst by principals for thinking and action in order to establish an education system that better prepares students for an increasingly digital and tech-driven society.

“We must build back better, building capacities and skills, ensuring resilience in case of another crisis such as the pandemic. Schools should be better prepared to switch easily between virtual and in-person learning. Curricula should be flexible so they can be taught online. The urban-rural divide in schools can be closed if we learn to make do with what we have. We cannot wait for others. It begins with us.”

Dr Abdel Aziz Az-Zohri, an associate professor at the University Hassan First of Settat in Morocco, agreed that the pandemic presented an opportunity and that “change management can feed our thinking in terms of policymaking around the crisis. Turbulent times provide an easy buy-in to rally forces towards change.”

Dean Zwotiahu Neuhutla, Kagiso Trust trustee, concluded the webinar by emphasising that change is necessary if education is to transform and be fit for purpose in a post-Covid-19 world: “We cannot return to the world as it was before. We need to rethink education and take advantage of the lessons of the past two years.”

About Education Conversations
Education Conversations is a Kagiso Trust initiative in partnership with the University of Johannesburg Faculty of Education which aims to provide a platform for education sector experts and like-minded professionals to exchange views and information, allowing them to find solutions together and to a large extent, influence policy towards the transformation of South Africa’s education ecosystem.

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