The Khayelitsha Education Forum (KEF) has concurred with Provincial Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer, regarding the devastating impact of Covid-19 on systematic tests.
The department revealed that overall, learners have fallen down to 70% of a school year behind previous cohorts in Language, and up to 106% of a year behind in Mathematics.
In comparing 2021 to 2019 results, there was a significant failing rate of learners, especially in Grade three and six in both mathematics and language.
In 2019, in Grade 3 there was a 58,1% pass rate with an average of 54,4% in mathematics while in language there was 44,9% with an average 44,2%.
In 2021, in mathematics there was 44,3% pass with an average of 46,7% while on language there was 36,9% with an average of 38,9%.
In Grade six mathematics in 2019 there was a 44,4% pass with an average 48,2% while in language there was 42,8% pass with an average 45,6%. In 2021 in Grade 6 there was 37,3% passed with an average of 44,5% while in language there was 39,4% with an average of 42,7%.
Schäfer said the greatest learning losses can be seen in the Foundation Phase. “We have always maintained that the loss of contact (face-to-face) teaching time would affect our youngest learners the most as they do not have the same self-discipline, maturity or structure that our older learners would have to cope with rotating timetables and learning at home,” she said.
KEF secretary Mthetho Haido shared Schäfer’s sentiments. He said learners did not get enough tuition during the pandemic.
Haido also believes the intervention plans were not effective enough. “We must also remember that learners at public schools did not have the necessary resources like gadgets or data as compared to learners who are better off. We believe about 50% of academic delivery was not covered during this period,” he said.
Haido said the rotational system impacted negatively on learning and teaching. He said they were not surprised with the results but were now “grateful” learners have come back to the classroom and hoped results will also “improve”.
Schäfer said the WCED is studying these results and accompanying diagnostics with a focus on updating its learning recovery plans to address these losses. “We already have a number of programmes underway to improve literacy and numeracy, which we are looking at expanding. In 2021 the WCED put a structured Language approach in place in all three Western Cape Home Languages based on the Science of Reading,” she said.
Schäfer said the department is now looking at ways to incorporate extra time for Reading, Writing and Mathematics in the Foundation Phase. She said most importantly, the extent of learning loss needs to be determined at the classroom level by the teacher. The diagnostics emanating from the systemic testing will be presented as a useful aid to direct the teacher in planning learning programmes for the learners in specific skills and core competencies for each of the grades and subject areas.
She believes the most important way to claw back these losses is to ensure that every child is at school every day, that teaching and learning time is maximised, and that every effort is made to promote a learning culture beyond the school.
“Our administrative data from Temporary Revised Education Plans (TREPs) show that between closures and rotating timetables, 155 school days were lost in 2020 and 2021 in our province. It is now more critical than ever that no person or organisation disrupts schooling. In addition to violating children’s constitutional rights, disruptions will only exacerbate the existing losses and put their futures in greater jeopardy. I appeal to all the residents of the Western Cape not to let their personal, political, or commercial interests override our learners’ education. We all need to work together to recover from this pandemic,” she urged.
