Kaya 959 News Reporter
The Department of Basic Education encourages all stakeholders in the education sector to continue with the remainder of the school year without further disruptions.
COVID-19 related learning loses have impacted 50% to 75% of the school year.
The findings are the result of comparing the 2020 school year with “normal school years before COVID-19.”
“Although we only have the information for certain grades and learning areas, it is likely that learners across the grades and subjects would have been similarly affected,” said Doctor Stephen Taylor, the Director of Research for the DBE.
More concerns are raised about children attending Early Childhood Development centres and primary schools.
Attendance rates to ECD centre have dropped and the impact of the disruption may be felt in years to come.
The Department says that it is “predicted that grade 12 outcomes may be expected to be lower over time. In the long run, the learning losses in primary school may lead to an increase in dropouts when these children reach grades 10, 11 and 12. This creates an urgent need to recover learning that has been lost.”
With the rollout of vaccinations of teachers and the departments’ introduction of comprehensive school COVID-19 safety protocols, the call for no further disruptions to the school year is possible.
The department will then introduce measures for teachers and learners to catch up on the lost time for the school year.
Also read: DBE proposes taking away October school holidays
