Fixing wide digital divide in SA’s education system
Group of at least 200 principals to assist poor pupils who have no access to data catch up
THE Progressive Principals’ Association (PPA) has expressed concern over the lack of wi-fi in poorer communities and the impact it would have on pupils’ abilities to continue with their studies during the lockdown.
The organisation said the burden often fell heavily on pupils from township schools, who struggle to complete their work because of technological and economic barriers. It said the disruptions by the coronavirus threatened to exacerbate those digital woes, raising the question of whether the government should have done more to cure the country’s digital divide before a pandemic gripped.
PPA spokesperson Faiek Abrahams said they were fighting to flatten the curve, “but sadly, our township learners are paying a price with their education during this period that will be felt long after the coronavirus pandemic.
“Yes, there are a lot of educational worksheets and examples available online, but these can only be accessed if you have wi-fi or data, which is not the case with many of our learners from townships.”
The association is a group of at least 200 principals in the Western Cape supporting principals and learners in disadvantaged areas.
Abrahams said the association had planned to drive a massive catch up project with those learners when schools reopen, which would include, extension of the normal school day, present additional classes on Saturdays and to engage newspapers and TV channels to play a role.
“Our principals are now calling on all corporates, business sectors and the broader community to make a financial contribution to enable our schools to run these extra classes and to feed these learners to cope with the extended school day,” he said.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said she had noted the PPA’s concerns and the department was doing everything it could to make online resources available to all by engaging with data providers to zero-rate the Western Cape Education Department’s ePortal.
Adding to that, Schäfer said that they were putting together a programme for quality learning at home, including broadcast lessons, activities and reading material.
ANC deputy chief whip in the provincial legislature and the party spokesperson on education Khalid Sayed said the ANC shared the concern of poor pupils, parents and teachers of so-called township areas (at least quintiles 1 to 3) that were losing out during the lockdown.
Sayed said pupils from mainly former Model C schools generally had access to equipment and the means to continue online studies.
“Therefore, the ANC supports and encourages all learners from the poorest and working-class areas to invest time in catch-up programmes when closed schools resume,” Sayed said, and he commended the PPA for putting the interests of children above other priorities.
“I will make contact with these principals and undertake to have a proper session with them after the lockdown to get a good sense of their work and to see how we can assist at the level of oversight to support their