If you have a school aged child - he or she has been at home since March of this year - and you can expect that to continue into 2021.
Distance learning has proved effective in lessening the risk of children and teachers contracting COVID-19, which is why the Ministry of Education says that it will continue for the upcoming school year. In a press release, they said that students will remain out of the classroom until it is deemed safe for them to return to school.
But, does distance learning work? And how is the long period away from classroom instruction affecting the students' education and socialisation? And how are they being assessed for promotion to the next class?
And while the super majority of students are definitely learning less, the CEO in the Ministry of Education told us today that the usual benchmarks will need to change to accommodate this new method of learning:
Dian Maheia - CEO, Ministry of Education "I think the reality that we've all had, everyone that is involved in education, every principal, every teacher, every stakeholder, the reality we've had to accept is that everything had changed and so the way that we teach has change and so the way that we assess and the way that we share the results of the assessment has changed. So yes, we have had to begin the process of changing the way reporting looks. The Ministry has made some head way in this area, and really as the year goes on, we're going to continue to do that. The issue right now is more than just, it's not just about promotion, it's not just looking at academic levels, it's bigger than that, how everyone is managing, how everyone is adjusting, we know that they are difficulties, we know that especially, depending on where the school is, depending on where the students are, the ways the children have been able to manage with learning and the way that they are learning has been different. To blanketly state across the board that everyone will be the same and it will move forward is really a difficult thing to say. What we have to focus on is the fact that we recognize that it's different and we will need to continue to work with our student where they are, the yard sticks that we are used to, those measuring levels, they really will all change. There has to be progression, right? So standard six students will need to move on the high school and fourth form students will need to move on to tertiary education, hopefully, for the majority of them. It's just that the concept of normal is going to change. That's the thing."
And while this past school year has been done almost entirely through distance learning, there are still those students with no devices and no one around to ensure they complete their work. There is no teacher to ask for help, and no friend to lean on sometimes not even a proper space to study.
But according to CEO Maheia, those kids are still not being left behind and while they await for assistance from the government, they are also learning valuable life skills.
Dian Maheia "Everything is different, it does not need to be looked at as left behind or suffering. These are also kids who have developed skills that neither you nor I ever had before. There are life skills being developed, there are technological skills that are being developed, there is family time that is happening now in ways that it has never happened before. I'm not saying this is a good thing but I'm saying the way that we look at it and the way that we respond to it is critical. The previous administration had done the work of preparing laptops, there's another set of devices that will be distributed, over 5000 devices that will be distributed when school reopens in January to secondary students. We're working on making sure they will be distributed also with interest access for those who would not be able to get that access on their own and the truth is that we can just continue to do the best that we can to reach all of these students. This is an obstacle that as a people, as a nation, as a world, we are facing, we are not saying that school will never resume face to face, we are saying that right now this is the best decision we can make for the health and safety of the students and of the teachers of our nation. No one is condemning anyone to not being able to return to school. So yes, you're right, education is key, education is critical, but remember, education is continuing."
MOE's press release ended by saying that a COVID-19 Education Task Force is being formed, and they will take the lead in planning the safe reopening of schools.
