GOOD LUCK AT SCHOOL
WHEN the Tasmanian school year starts this week — parents, students and teachers alike will be hoping for a far smoother educational journey than what they endured in 2020. It was a year like no other, pushing them out of their comfort zones, including forcing many families to supervise their children’s learning from home while working themselves due to stay-at-home directives brought about by the coronavirus.
The routine of a school day was thrown out for a large portion of the year. The significant achievement of school students last year amid the enormous disruption cannot be underestimated and we wish school communities well for what is hopefully a far more conventional year.
The start of the new school year brings excitement, happiness, and even some nervousness as many students start their educational journey. There are likely to be tears of both sadness and pride from both sides as parents send off their sons and daughters to school for the first time.
For some, the necessity of having to supervise their children’s learning at home has translated to a desire to permanently homeschool them. Department of Education data showed 1164 children were registered for homeschooling at the end of October 2020, compared with 1068 in June 2019. There was a spike of 231 new applications between January and June — with anecdotal reports that many parents decided their children responded better to being taught at home.
The start of the school year also brings with it a fresh reminder for motorists to show extra caution on the roads, especially around reduced speed school zones.
COVID SUPPORT MEASURES
THE start of February also spells the end of a key measure rolled out to protect some of the most vulnerable groups of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
From today, landlords will again be permitted to increase the price of rent, while the moratorium on evictions has ended.
It has prompted concern from Tasmania’s tenants union, which said tenants were losing sleep over how they would be able to afford a potential rental price hike.
It comes amid fears that the winding back of the JobSeeker and JobKeeper subsidies at the end of March — a lifeline for many individuals and businesses throughout the pandemic — could be disastrous.
The support was designed to be temporary, but a smooth transition was always going to be needed to help those affected adjust. The subsidies have created a highly unusual economic situation and when they end, many businesses and individuals are, sadly, likely to be adversely impacted.
There will likely never be a good time for the support packages to be fully wound back — and the true longer-lasting impact of COVID may not be fully understood for months, or even years.