OPINION | 500 000 children dropped out of school since Covid-19 began: Teachers can't fix everything

April 01, 2022

People who dropped out of school, and later became successful in whatever they do, will never beat around the bush when they make statements that tend to influence our young brothers and sisters to drop out of school. Sometimes i wonder if we (The Pro-School brigade) are doing enough to motivate and help the young ones to stay at school.

Research indicates that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a 20-year school dropout record. Since the pandemic began, about 500 000 children have dropped out of school. The president knows about this. Last year President Ramaphosa said that He was saddened and concerned to hear how many young people have dropped out of school. He further challenged teachers to keep the dropout rates below 25%.

What the president is perhaps failing to recognize is that it takes a village to keep kids in schools, teachers can't do it alone. There's something called the three Cs of education (Curriculum, Care and Community). Teachers are experts in curriculum which means that they are hired because they are learning experts.

However, in the past two years, teachers have been burdened with the responsibility of the other two Cs in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A study by Ntate Gibson Mudiriza titled "Youth emotional wellbeing during the Covid-19 related lockdown" found that 72% of the respondents had symptoms of Depression.

The responsibility to respond to this heartbreaking trend is usually put on teachers whereby they are the first ones to recognise the signs that mental wellbeing is compromised, and then know where to refer children who are struggling, sometimes these referral pathways are not even in place at all.

Spokesperson of the National Department of Education Elijah Mhlanga said the high dropout rate is directly related to Covid-19.

“The forced closure of schools, poverty and extended absence from schools results in children losing interest and leaving school. Unemployment has forced some young people to go look for opportunities to support their families,” he said.

He said another factor that could’ve contributed to this high dropout rate is the rotation of timetables as learners are not always at school.

“It doesn’t work as learners are not always in school. At home, some of them don’t get support and schoolwork doesn’t get done,” he added.

We need to realise that the problem is bigger than teachers. Teachers can't fix everything. Communities of care, including the government, are needed to provide support. If we continue to add to the burden on teachers we risk shifting the focus away from the core purpose of a teacher, namely teaching.

Families, peer groups and community organisations must help in supporting the mental wellbeing of learners, and such help should include the provision of self-care and coping strategies, helplines, counselling and talk therapy. Our children and teachers need us more than ever. We need all hands on deck and leverage the resilient South African spirit.

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