Fierce Debate Around The World Over Reopening of Schools
July 15 2020 By Abiodun Giwa
A school classroom in Kenyan, where schools face closure for an entire year.
Mmusi Maimane wants schools in South Africa closed because of the spread of Covid-19. Maimane has collected 192,000 signatures that he requires based on law to press his case in a court of law, according to a report by News24. He says he has evidence to show that Covid-19 is spreading in the country.
The fierce debate over reopening of schools in September is not limited to South Africa. The debate is also fierce in Italy and the United States. But Italy has a blueprint the world can follow from a report 'Protest in Italy Over Strategy to Reopen Schools in September' published by Forbes.
People who are opposed to government reopening of schools for students to leave home and go back to school for face-to-face studies in class room are saying government has disregarded the threat of Covid-19 and the endangerment of lives.
Some parents would have nothing to do with government's decision to reopen schools for the Fall semester. Some other parents are saying their children should be allowed to return to school, saying they had lost considerable study time from March, when schools first closed for the virus.
Opposition politicians don't want to hear anything about schools reopening for the Fall. For them, reopening schools when Covid-19 is still spreading is like sending the children to go die, or sending the children to bring death home to their old parents.
It isn't that governments that want schools reopen don't love the children or their parents. It is also not that the opposition that don't want schools reopen for the fear of Covid-19 loves children and their parents more than the government.
Covid-19 and its harbinger is the cause of trouble. Schools resorted to virtual learning for most part of the Spring semester to keep both teachers and students safe from the virus. And most schools have told their students virtual learning will continue into 2021 against government's intention.
This clash of interest between governments and opposition parties and others over schools reopening is no longer mute. The clash may be louder in some countries than others. But it is a worldwide phenomenon.
Some countries have quietly reopened schools for classroom learning from June, mostly in places with less severe presence of the killing virus. For example, Ghana has reopened schools since June. So also is South Africa, where Maimane is fighting to get the schools shut.
Nigeria does not have a cohesive plan based on investigation for this report. Kenya has decided schools won't reopen until January 2021. The story of the drama that follows government's decision to reopen schools in Italy may be instructive to help other countries working towards schools reopening achieve same objective.
Plan for protests in Italy has given way to the respect of plans by government towards what can be described as total school safety towards students' safety, ending the precarious thoughts about anger to children's lives and bringing the virus from school to their old parents at home. Obviously, disagreement over reopening of schools revolves around safety. Safety of teachers and students and other personnel in the school environment.
Many observers believe that governments all over the world contemplating reopening of schools after months of Covid-19 devastation are not doing so without guideline in place towards safety in schools. They say it is government's responsibility to return students back into classroom learning after the Spring semester of forced virtual learning, and that these governments are aware of the danger of sending children to school without precaution for safety.
People don't expect all countries to act the same way, just as it is happening that some countries are debating reopening, some have decided against reopening and some don't have any blueprint towards reopening. Every country will consider to reopen or not to reopen based on the extent of the spread of Covid-19.
Ostensibly, the decision may be to reopen in states not adversely affected by Covid-19 with expected precautionary measures, while states that are adversely affected can be monitored towards reopening and pull back from reopening if the adverse situation fails to abate. Many people think general clampdown is unfair for the mental development of students and country, and that in view of the inequality that has been reported in access to computers and technological know how by students, forcing all students on indefinite virtual learning can only happen where there is no plan at all.
Maimane has being accused of playing politics in South Africa with the schools' reopening disagreement. The same is happening in the U.S. where government apologists have accused the opposition of wrongheaded argument against reopening to score a political point towards the November election, and President Trump has expressed the need for children to return to school.
Both government and opposition need to look at the government blueprint for reopening of schools and be able to harmonize the plans with suggestions from all stakeholders towards safety in schools. This is what Italy reopening of schools is all about.
The fierce debate over reopening of schools in September is not limited to South Africa. The debate is also fierce in Italy and the United States. But Italy has a blueprint the world can follow from a report 'Protest in Italy Over Strategy to Reopen Schools in September' published by Forbes.
People who are opposed to government reopening of schools for students to leave home and go back to school for face-to-face studies in class room are saying government has disregarded the threat of Covid-19 and the endangerment of lives.
Some parents would have nothing to do with government's decision to reopen schools for the Fall semester. Some other parents are saying their children should be allowed to return to school, saying they had lost considerable study time from March, when schools first closed for the virus.
Opposition politicians don't want to hear anything about schools reopening for the Fall. For them, reopening schools when Covid-19 is still spreading is like sending the children to go die, or sending the children to bring death home to their old parents.
It isn't that governments that want schools reopen don't love the children or their parents. It is also not that the opposition that don't want schools reopen for the fear of Covid-19 loves children and their parents more than the government.
Covid-19 and its harbinger is the cause of trouble. Schools resorted to virtual learning for most part of the Spring semester to keep both teachers and students safe from the virus. And most schools have told their students virtual learning will continue into 2021 against government's intention.
This clash of interest between governments and opposition parties and others over schools reopening is no longer mute. The clash may be louder in some countries than others. But it is a worldwide phenomenon.
Some countries have quietly reopened schools for classroom learning from June, mostly in places with less severe presence of the killing virus. For example, Ghana has reopened schools since June. So also is South Africa, where Maimane is fighting to get the schools shut.
Nigeria does not have a cohesive plan based on investigation for this report. Kenya has decided schools won't reopen until January 2021. The story of the drama that follows government's decision to reopen schools in Italy may be instructive to help other countries working towards schools reopening achieve same objective.
Plan for protests in Italy has given way to the respect of plans by government towards what can be described as total school safety towards students' safety, ending the precarious thoughts about anger to children's lives and bringing the virus from school to their old parents at home. Obviously, disagreement over reopening of schools revolves around safety. Safety of teachers and students and other personnel in the school environment.
Many observers believe that governments all over the world contemplating reopening of schools after months of Covid-19 devastation are not doing so without guideline in place towards safety in schools. They say it is government's responsibility to return students back into classroom learning after the Spring semester of forced virtual learning, and that these governments are aware of the danger of sending children to school without precaution for safety.
People don't expect all countries to act the same way, just as it is happening that some countries are debating reopening, some have decided against reopening and some don't have any blueprint towards reopening. Every country will consider to reopen or not to reopen based on the extent of the spread of Covid-19.
Ostensibly, the decision may be to reopen in states not adversely affected by Covid-19 with expected precautionary measures, while states that are adversely affected can be monitored towards reopening and pull back from reopening if the adverse situation fails to abate. Many people think general clampdown is unfair for the mental development of students and country, and that in view of the inequality that has been reported in access to computers and technological know how by students, forcing all students on indefinite virtual learning can only happen where there is no plan at all.
Maimane has being accused of playing politics in South Africa with the schools' reopening disagreement. The same is happening in the U.S. where government apologists have accused the opposition of wrongheaded argument against reopening to score a political point towards the November election, and President Trump has expressed the need for children to return to school.
Both government and opposition need to look at the government blueprint for reopening of schools and be able to harmonize the plans with suggestions from all stakeholders towards safety in schools. This is what Italy reopening of schools is all about.
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