CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

THE WORDS of Frantz Fanon that ‘each generation must discover its mission’ come to mind every time I have an opportunity to speak with young South Africans.
 
No matter where they live and no matter what they do, they each have a burning desire to change the world.
 
While they certainly want to improve their own lives, they also want to achieve a better society and a better world.

They see themselves as agents for fundamental transformation.
 
Throughout history young people have been a driving force for change. In just the last few decades, young people have waged numerous struggles against injustice, from the 1968 student uprising in Paris, to the anti-war movement in the United States in the 1960s, to the anti-colonial struggle in many African and Asian countries, to the fight against apartheid, to the Arab Spring.
 
Most recently, young people have been at the forefront of the #BlackLivesMatter movement that has gained global support in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the United States.
 
Over the past week, activists around the world have also been demanding the removal of symbols that glorify the barbarity and violence of the slave trade and colonialism.
 
At an Oxford University demonstration last week a protestor carried a placard with the words ‘Rhodes must Fall’, the rallying cry of students in our own country five years ago.
 
Young people across the world have found common cause.

They are tearing down of statues and symbols of racism, demanding the decolonisation of educational curricula, and calling for institutions to address racism and social exclusion.
 
And so, as we pay tribute to the generation of 1976 on this Youth Day, we also salute the youth of post-apartheid South Africa, the worthy inheritors of this noble legacy.
 
The mission of 1976 generation was to dismantle bantu education; that of today’s youth is to take forward the project of national reconciliation and transformation.
 
In time to come it will be said that this year, 2020, marked the start of a new epoch in human history.
 
Not only has coronavirus had a momentous impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, it has also shaken up the global social order.
 
The manner in which the pandemic has taken hold has been a reminder of the interconnectedness of the human race and of the deep inequalities that exist between countries and within countries.
 
The pandemic presents an opportunity to ‘reset’ a world that is characterised by crass materialism, selfishness and self-absorption not just on the part of individuals but whole societies.
 
Young people are telling us that the essential values of integrity, compassion and solidarity must be the hallmarks of the new society that will emerge, and that they are determined to be the champions of this new, better world.
 
In the discussions I have had with young people during this Youth Month, I have said that we should never underestimate the power of an idea, because ideas can and have changed the world. Ideas have spurred human progress and they are what will enable us to chart a new path in the post-coronavirus era. 
 
These young people have turned their ideas into action. They have not let a lack of resources hinder them. They have carved a niche for themselves in a number of sectors from high-tech to environmental sustainability.
 
They are determined to succeed on their own merits, to not depend on handouts, and once they have ‘made it’ to help their peers.
 
Through programmes like the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, the National Youth Service and many more we want to support this country’s young people to see their ideas through from incubation to opening the doors of their businesses.
 
Youth unemployment is the greatest challenge we face and the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated an already dire situation.
 
Now more than ever we will look to the innovative and pioneering spirit of our youth to come up with solutions to the unemployment crisis that benefit them, their communities and society.
 
At the same time, I challenge our country’s youth to craft and design programmes that will enable us to meet our developmental goals.
 
In 1961, revolutionary Cuba sent legions of young student volunteers into the mountains and villages to construct schools, teach literacy and train new educators.

It is still held up as one of the most successful literacy campaigns in modern history.
 
Our young people must develop social upliftment initiatives and they must lead them.
 
Just as they took up the struggle for equality in higher education, the considerable energies of our youth must also be brought to bear to fight for equitable access to health care, for the transformation of land ownership and, most importantly, for gender justice.
 
Like all South Africans, I have been deeply disturbed by a surge over the last few days in the murder of young women at the hands of men. These are shocking acts of inhumanity that have no place in our society.
 
Youth-led civic activism, awareness raising and peer counselling are vital tools in our efforts to eradicate gender-based violence from society. At the same time, we must strengthen our justice system, ensuring that perpetrators are brought to book, bail and parole conditions are tightened and that those sentenced to life spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
 
While this needs society-wide action, I call on young men in particular to take up the struggle against gender-based violence. Unless we end the war that is being waged against South African women, the dream of a new society will remain elusive.
 
Those of us who were part of student movements during the apartheid era are often asked what we think of the young people of today.

There is a temptation to retreat into nostalgia about ‘the glory days’ of student politics and youth struggle, never to be replicated.
 
But just as the youth of yesteryear defined their mission, today’s youth have defined theirs.
 
South African youth of 2020 more than meet the high standard set by their predecessors. They are optimistic, resilient and courageous, often in the face of the harshest of circumstances.
 
They are a source of inspiration and hope. Through their actions, they are building a world that is more just, equal, sustainable and at peace.
 
I wish all the young people of South Africa a meaningful and inspiring Youth Day.

AS PRESSURE MOUNTS on the Federal Government to reopen schools across the country in the wake of the 2nd phase relaxation of the COVID-10 restrictions on socio-economic activities, critical stakeholders in the health and education sectors have called on the Federal and state governments to exercise restraint in reopening schools.

In May, the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19 had recommended that states be allowed to decide on the reopening of schools, has not fixed issued for resumption and reopening of schools across the country. Calling for caution, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, ALMSN, warned against any plan to rush to reopen schools.

In a similar response, the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, said a critical appraisal of the situation must be done to arrive at a decision that would not lead to regret later, even as the It is better to lose a session than lose lives — Prof Innocent Ujah, National President, NMA On his own part, the President of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Prof Innocent Ujah said the coast was not yet clear to reopen the schools.

“We may not have to rush; if it is left to me I would say we should have waited for the next quarter and see what will happens. It is better to lose a session than losing our lives. It does not matter whether we are losing a session rather than escalating the community transmission and die of COVID 19. Nobody has the answer when it is rising or the trend. Ujah, who frowned on the poor compliance of the public with the relaxation guidelines, argued that it is better to lose a session than lose lives.”

 “I think it is better to be alive than dying or be infected. I think we should be cautious. If the coast is not clear because we don’t even know the directions that we are going, the coronavirus cases are increasing. Fatality is increasing even though it is about is still under 3 percent but any one life lost matters. “It is difficult to say what is on ground to make the state government think of telling students to go back to school. Have they gotten the emergency protocols including the wearing of face masks, hand washing, and use of sanitisers and social distancing?”

“Those are the basic protocols that they need. We don’t even know the capacity of the classrooms. Are they congested? Will they just sit down and take lectures and go home and not go for sports? If they go home and they are infected will they not infect their family members? There so many questions unanswered so we need to be cautious,” he asserted.

Most appropriate time to open schools is September — Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, National Publicity Secretary, AMLSN In the views of the National Publicity Secretary, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, AMLSN, Dr Casmir Ifeanyi who expressed worry about Nigerians compliance to the lockdown protocols, said it is not safe to open schools now because Nigeria has not run enough tests for a reasonable time to determine the curve of the infection.

“If I am a part of the technocrats driving this intervention, our schools should have remained closed until sometime in September. That is a more effective thing to do in this circumstance. That way, we would have had enough time to interpret this spike with epidemiological parameters to decide the prevalence of the disease and where we are in the pandemic in Nigeria. “There are a lot of uncertainties on where we are in Nigeria and the disease morbidity in-country. Unfortunately, people are in a hurry and I have always advocated we make haste slowly. That is not happening and that is worrisome.”

Ifeanyi who expressed worry about the low level of compliance to the lockdown protocols by Nigerian adults said: “We are not very much worried by the increase in numbers as compared to our worry that most adults have thrown caution to the wind. But we are worried about the compliance rate with non-pharmaceutical interventions like the use of nose masks to enforce respiratory protocol. “What is the compliance rate for hand hygiene, and the use of hand sanitisers intermittently? What also is the physical distancing in gatherings? Are we still complying with not more than 20 persons or are we still complying to the second phase of the lockdown which stipulates that those offices should not exceed 75 per cent of capacity? These are areas where I am worried.”

Ifeanyi said that the government should be fair and firm, even as he cited what happened in South Korea and Brazil where schools were hurriedly opened and shut almost immediately due to the rate of infection.

“These are countries were compliance rates are better than, as it is in Nigeria, where infrastructure is even a lot better than we have in Nigeria, even some of those schools that were opened in those climes have some sort of effective screening going on including laboratory-based screening to make sure that if they have asymptomatic cases or very new active cases they could be readily be detected and taken out of the midst of the students but that cannot happen in Nigeria and that is not part of the protocols in Nigeria and it is not anywhere near it.”

Reacting on the position of the Cross River State government, Ifeanyi who faulted the government provision of facial shield for students said: “I like the Governor for other things he is doing but I am worried that he is in a hurry to open schools. Now he had said he is going to produce masks for life to continue in Cross River and Calabar. He has not made available the projected number of local fabric-based masks he promised, now he is dabbling into making available face shields for students and pupils to return to school.”

“I am also certain that he will not meet that expectation because those are lofty ideas but before these ideas, we need to evaluate compliance rate.”

“I tried getting my ward to wear a face mask for 30 minutes but the young lad could not stay with it and you expect he will go to school and stay with it for eight hours? These are issues we have to avail our minds.”

In a telephone call on Sunday, the National President, NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma, told Vanguard that the Association has entered into discussion with the Presidential Task Force in COVID-19 on the matter.

“Two weeks ago, we had a meeting with the committee and a number of issues and proposals were raised. The committee put forward some conditions that must be met before schools will be reopened. This is because we are not talking only about public schools, private schools are also involved and we cannot reopen one and leave the other.

“The meeting was not conclusive as there were some issues to be thrashed out and we are going to meet with them soon. However, one thing is important, the decision to be taken must consider the safety and health of all persons in the education sector,” Danjuma stated.

Health factor takes pride of place — Adesina Adedoyin, Lagos State Chairman, NUT Also reacting to the development, the Lagos State Chairman of the NUT, Otunba Adesina Adedoyin, argued that the health factor must take pride of place in arriving at whatever decision.

“As teachers, we want to go back to our duty posts but safety first. When we talk about safety and the health of stakeholders, we are not just talking about the pupils and students, but also about teachers and other workers in the sector. It is only the living that can learn, teach or sponsor the education of another person.”

“I understand the plight of our colleagues in private schools, most of whom are not paid salaries during this period, but that is not to say we should rush to do things we will later regret. Let us aggregate the opinions of experts and if they say it is safe for all to reopen schools, there is no problem with that,” he noted.

Adedoyin said although those suggesting adoption of virtual teaching had a point, it could never replace teacher-student physical contact.

He also opposed the call that virtual teaching being adopted by some private schools should be taken to have replaced the third term they ought to spend in school.

The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, had earlier issued its proposals for the reopening of schools.

According to the National President, NAPPS, Chief Yomi Otubela, a phased reopening was suggested by the Association even as it canvassed that pupils in primary six, students in Junior Secondary School 3 and students in Senior Secondary School 3 should be allowed to resume and sit for their final examinations before others would join.

A circular from the Federal Ministry of Education granted an approval for the closure of all school for a period of one month commencing from Monday, 23rd March, 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Each state in Nigeria has, however, contextualised this circular.

According to UNESCO, almost 40 million learners have been affected by the nationwide school closures in Nigeria, of which over 91 per cent are primary and secondary school learners.

In a short time, COVID-19 has disrupted the landscape of learning by limiting how students can access learning across the country.

(Source: VANGUARD/Nigeria)

EQUAL EDUCATION, SECTION 27 and the school governing bodies of two Limpopo schools have launched an urgent court application against the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and provincial education departments.

The EE and the SGBs are challenging the DBE’s failure to roll out the National Schools Nutrition Programme to all learners in all grades.

The government’s feeding scheme normally provides meals to over 9 million learners every day, but was halted when schools closed on March 18 due to COVID-19, jeopardizing the food security of these learners and exacerbating the severe hardship experienced within their households.

EE and the SGBs, represented by the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) and SECTION27, have filed legal papers at the North Gauteng High Court.

The NGOs argue that the failure of the DBE and provincial education departments to roll out the school nutrition programme to all qualifying learners – or even to produce a plan or programme for doing so – is a regressive measure that violates learners’ rights to basic nutrition, basic education and equality. 

“Throughout the time that schools have been closed, a number of child rights and education justice organisations, including SECTION27, EELC and EE, have repeatedly engaged with the DBE urging them to reinstate the NSNP for all learners,” the NGOs said in a statement.  

“The closure of the NSNP impacts on not only the health and education of learners, but has knock-on effects on entire families – in a context of heightened unemployment and loss of income due to the nationwide lockdown, many families are struggling to put food on the table. These families urgently require the NSNP to be reinstated in order to meet their children’s basic nutritional needs and ensure that they are able to buy other desperately needed necessities in the home.”

 SECTION27 and EE have received gravely concerning testimonies from learners, caregivers, educators and SGB members about the dire hardship faced by children across the country in the absence of the NSNP.

The following statements demonstrate the severity of suffering:

 “I had to get a job doing gardening to earn some money to buy food. My sister and I do not have enough food at home. Without the meals from school, I could not concentrate on school work because I was hungry.” – Matric learner, Limpopo

 “The government must also think about those learners at home. I feel bad because I am receiving meals at school while my younger sister is still struggling at home. It is not right.” – Matric Equaliser (learner member of EE), Gauteng

“I have been extremely stressed during this period but because I am a mother, I have to make a plan to make sure my family does not go hungry. I have had to resort to taking loans from a loan shark in order to make sure my family survives. The weight on my shoulders is heavy.” – Single mother of five, Limpopo

It is “unfair that some children will be able to benefit and others will not be able to” since “parents are no longer working and need the feeding scheme now more than ever”. – Grade 10 Equaliser (learner member of EE), Gauteng

(Compiled by Inside Education staff)