JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 23: A general view of children being home schooled on March 23, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to media, more parents are considering home-schooling amid the Covid-19 outbreak. (Photo: Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo) 
Leaked Department of Basic Education documents suggest that the government is considering various options to reopen schools, including a phased approach between 6 May and mid-July.
However, these plans have not been confirmed and it remains unclear when formal learning will be able to continue. As long as schools remain closed, we must interrogate government’s plans for learning during the lockdown, and how it is supporting the most vulnerable learners.
The disruption to schooling has worsened pre-existing inequalities in our education system and our society. While some schools have been able to provide learners with printed learning materials, online resources and virtual lessons, other learners and caregivers are without any resources or support.
Social inequalities are exacerbating education inequalities. Many learners lack data or access to devices to support online learning and access to electricity remains a problem. In some cases learners do not have a home environment conducive to learning and households are struggling to put food on the table.
It is against this background that education civil society organisations and social movements – SECTION27, Equal Education and the Equal Education Law Centre – have written to the DBE with a plea to focus its interventions on learners who are least likely to receive support from anywhere else.
The reality is that the vast majority of learners will have an extremely difficult time learning at home and cannot be expected to keep up with the formal curriculum during school closures. The focus must be on providing learners and caregivers with resources and support that enable meaningful learning opportunities and take into account what is possible until schools reopen.
The DBE has shown some consideration for these realities, with Motshekga publicly
stating that learners will not be assessed on content that has not been taught in the classroom.
In the meantime, various resources have been made available, including the use of online platforms and radio and television lessons. While these measures are to the benefit of learners, they are certainly not perfect or sufficient.
In our joint letter, we have emphasised the need to support learners and caregivers with simple guidelines on how to best utilise the time at home, without creating pressure to cover the curriculum. Government guidelines should focus on work that can realistically be done at home and outline core skills that can be prioritised.
Caregivers are well placed to support learners with reading and storytelling. We welcome minister Motshekga’s emphasis on reading and encourage the DBE to do more to supply families with printed reading materials, especially in African languages. Families should also be supported in developing simple routines by scheduling time for storytelling, fun physical activities, sharing meals and discussing broader societal issues such as the effects of Covid-19 and the lockdown.
We have also highlighted the following key issues:
- Disparities in access to internet and devices;
- The need for access to printed materials in various languages;
- Information related to broadcast schedules for both radio and television being uncoordinated and ad-hoc;
- Lack of access to online resources;
- The need to specifically support learners with disabilities; and
- Recognising and supporting the relationships that enable learning.
Disparities in access to internet and devices
According to the 2018 General Household Survey, approximately 10.4% of South African households have access to the internet at home. That percentage drops to as low as 1.7% in rural areas. If you consider access to mobile data, these figures change to 65% and 45% respectively. But this does not necessarily equate to sufficient access for learning. Moreover, not all mobile devices support access to learning materials. In contrast, 82.2% of South African households own a television, with 73.4% of households in rural areas having one.
The DBE has already acknowledged these disparities and it is imperative that government interventions continue to do so.
Access to printed materials
In the context of limited or intermittent access to online learning materials, printed materials remain a critical resource for learners. Prior to schools closing, minister Motshekga asked teachers to send workbooks home with learners. However, in one of her