Cape Town - The Progressive Principals’ Association
(PPA) has expressed concern over the
lack of Wi-Fi in poorer communities
and the impact it will have on
pupils’ abilities to continue with with their
studies during the lockdown.
The organisation said the burden often fell heavily on pupils from township schools, who struggle to complete their work because of technological and economic barriers. It said the disruptions by the coronavirus threatened to exacerbate those digital woes, raising the question of whether the government should have done more to cure the country's digital divide before a pandemic gripped the nation.
PPA spokesperson Faiek Abrahams said they were fighting to flatten the curve, “but sadly, our township learners are paying a price with their education during this period that will be felt long after the coronavirus pandemic.
“Yes, there are a lot of educational worksheets and examples available online, but these can only be accessed if you have Wi-Fi or data, which is not the case with many of our learners from townships.”
The association is a group of at least 200 principals in the Western Cape supporting principals and learners in disadvantaged areas.
Abrahams said the association planned to drive a massive catch-up project with those learners when schools reopen. This would include the extension of the normal school day, additional classes on Saturdays and engaging newspapers and TV channels to play a role.
“Our principals are now calling on all corporates, business sectors and the broader community to make a financial contribution to enable our schools to run these extra classes and to feed these learners, to cope with the extended school day,” he said.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said she had noted the PPA’s concerns and the department was doing everything it could to make online resources available to all by engaging with data providers to zero-rate the Western Cape Education Department’s ePortal.
Adding to that, Schäfer said that they were putting together a programme for quality learning at home, including broadcast lessons, activities and reading material.
ANC deputy chief whip in the provincial legislature and the party spokesperson on education, Khalid Sayed said the ANC shared the concern of poor pupils, parents and teachers of so-called township areas (at least quintiles 1 to 3) that were losing out during the lockdown.
Sayed said pupils from mainly former Model C schools generally had access to equipment and the means to continue online studies.
“Therefore, the ANC supports and encourages all learners from the poorest and working class areas to invest time in catch-up programmes when schools resume,” Sayed said. He commended the PPA for putting the interests of children above other priorities.
“I will make contact with these principals and undertake to have a proper session with them after the lockdown to get a good sense of their work and to see how we can assist at the level of oversight to support their work into the future,” he said.
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