Will the quality of education be the same again?

Will the quality of education be the same again?

Letwin Mubonesi

COVID-19 has become a thorn in the flesh and has posed a great threat if not to say confusion in our global education system. One would ask what the future of education might mean after this pandemic.

It has caused serious disruptions in efforts to ensure access to quality education for Africans since quality education is a right for all children despite how rich or poor one is.

Many countries and Zimbabwe are no exception, they have introduced new dynamics to learning but it has already had a huge impact on the quality of education. It has pushed the globe off the track of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Most African countries are in crisis, trying to negotiate the education sector terrain in the midst of the pandemic. The quality of education back then before the pandemic which was inclusive and for all is slowly waving goodbye.

It has become very hard to achieve that Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 because pupils are resorting to online learning, which entails receiving tutorials on various platforms including emails and social media platforms such as WhatsApp.

Has anyone thought of those from disadvantaged and poverty-stricken backgrounds who may not be able to afford online learning? They may not have access to digital gadgets and even money to buy data.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) is the education goal. It aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Global statistics showed that 258 million children and youth of primary and secondary school age were out of school before this pandemic.

Now with the dynamics in education amidst COVID-19, there remains a worry that no one knows when the pandemic will end and schools might not open for some soon. However, children will be growing up and this clearly defeats the goal to ensure quality education for all.

World Bank 2020 reports pinpoints that learning inequalities will increase, because only students from wealthier and more educated families will have the support to learn in the comfort of their homes with whatever is needed provided.

What about those children from remote areas? The dropout risk will then rise as it reduces the attachment to schooling for marginal students.

In Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa approved that schools be opened in phases. The quality of education will be compromised as in the case of opening schools in phases because there will be less learning time. In such scenarios like where students share books and even desks while learning, what could be the result?

Some measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 such as social distancing will require infrastructure changes which will lead to an alternative of class size reduction.

The costs of running schools will obviously increase and it simply means only the elite schools and rich families will meet the requirements leading to more school dropouts and it clearly violates SDG 4 which claims quality education is a right for all.

SDG 4 triggers the launch of Every Child in School Campaign in 2017. The campaign was a brainchild of Tag a Life International organization (TaLI) in partnership with Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC), Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ), Forum for African Women Educationalists Zimbabwe (FAWEZI), Mambure Trust, Research Advocacy Unit (RAU), Higher Life Foundation(HLF), Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI), Justice for Children’s Trust (JCT), Katswe Sistahood, World Vision Zimbabwe, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Issues Pane Nyaya, UDACIZA among other social movements and were advocating for education for all in the country.

TaLI director Miss Nyaradzo Mashayamombe emphasized that Every Child in School campaign was in line with the country’s new trajectory as espoused by President Emmerson Mnangagwa who, in his inaugural speech underscored the need to strengthen national institutions and human security from illiteracy.

She said Zimbabwe risked breeding an uneducated generation hence the need for the Every Child in School Campaign.
“We risk having a whole generation of uneducated people owing to the deterioration of the education system and the inaccessibility to free education in this current dispensation, a situation which is against the human rights of children,” said Mashayamombe.

The Zimbabwean Constitution which, in section 75(a), stipulates that the State must take all practical measures to promote a basic-state funded and compulsory education for children.

The State is also expected “to take reasonable legislation and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realization of the right set out”.

Despite all that, schools in Zimbabwe have been closed since early June as stern measures were adopted by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19.

In a bid to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in schools, the government announced that teachers will be required to be vaccinated. The number of students in classrooms will also be capped to ensure that social distancing measures are implemented.

The question still remains, will the quality of education be the same again even after this pandemic because technology is overtaking every aspect of our lives and education is no exception?

Will those children from poor backgrounds be able to afford the type of education after this pandemic and will education remain a right for all?