Students who were in grade seven in 2019 would soon found themselves in form three next year. But the question that many parents have is that “Is my child going to manage to write the Ordinary level and pass given the fact that he/she didn’t learn anything in form one and form two? “
If you are a parent asking yourself these questions at least find solace in the fact that you are not alone. Under the covid lockdowns, there is no doubt that we have regressed as a country academically. First of all majority of our students live in rural areas where they can not afford data and in some cases, there is no network.
All these challenges are rendering virtual learning almost impossible for most students in rural areas. Even in major cities, it’s difficult for students to learn online because teachers do not have bought for wife or data to robustly teach and deliver the modules as compared to in-person learning.
If nothing is done to save the next term I worry that we are creating the next generation of poverty, unemployment, and crime.
So what should be done?
First of all the government must speed up the vaccination program among the teaching staff.
Secondly, if we can not manage to speed up the vaccination program schools must be opened on a rotational basis. This will give a chance to students and teachers to share the much-needed contact, resources and assess the progress of students.
Lastly, we need to make sure that in the next two years we cut short the holiday breaks to three weeks at most. This will allow students to have an extra five weeks of learning a year.
Conclusion
If you are a parent the responsibility lies squarely on you and you alone, sometimes people like to believe that there is hope coming not this time around. So what can you do?
For high school and primary students, it’s better to find a university graduate ask him or her to teach your child part-time. Find your child’s favorite subjects and stick to that to cut the cost. Yes, use your school fees to pay for the costs.
