Back To School During The Pandemic

When the whole country went on a break at the end of March this year, no one expected schools to be shut down for this long. In-person learning quickly became electronic learning. With the ban stretching into six months, the question everyone wants an answer to is ‘when will schools fully open?‘

As of now, schools are opened for Junior and Senior Final Classes only, this is because of the upcoming examinations:

WASSCE – 17th  of  August, 2020.

BECE – 24th of August, 2020

These streamlined resumptions in finishing classes is an obvious sign of what is to come, Full Resumption.

After students have spent more than half of the school year learning from home, many parents are of the opinion that face-to-face learning will be a welcome change in pace for the little ones whilst having reservations as regards safety.

While carrying out a survey we took the time to converse with parents and while speaking with Miriam, a working mother of two, she expressed deeply-rooted concerns about letting her kids go back to physical learning, especially her last child who battles with dyspnea as well as asthma.

As our analysts sifted through Tens of thousands of responses a pattern was discovered, Miriam’s concerns echoed through all the responses from parents, their primary bother is: How safe is a resumption amid this pandemic?

The government guidelines go a long way to ensure safety, however, parents and the school carry the onus of ensuring the safety of students in school and out of school.

From our findings, we discern that parents and school leaders agree that the principle of Checks and Balances is to be implemented to ensure kids are kept safe and healthy. Checks & Balances in the vein that parents should take on a mantle of personal responsibility and take steps to verify that the school adheres strictly to the safety measures set in place by the government and vice versa.

As a parent you are to request and confirm that there is soap and running water for washing of hands; the provision of face masks and hand sanitizers, that social distancing is practiced even in the classrooms. School staff are expected to take the necessary steps to ensure parents provide their children with the requisite health supplies e.g. Face mask, mini sanitizer, and so on.

Despite our reluctance, we have to understand that schools would eventually have to resume, as the future of education is a hybrid system of learning where both in-person and electronic learning are used in schools.

Resuming school during the COVID-19 pandemic may not feel normal at first but like we always do we would adapt and make the most of the opportunities provided us.

Have you taken the time to rate your school’s online classes?

Visit our website and drop a review on your school’s profile to enable other parents looking to switch schools to know how good/bad your online classes experience has been.