��������Environmental Scan Project ��A Description of the Educational Response to Covid from South Africa: K-12 and Higher Education��Sedar Fred Pougaza��Department of Educational Technology, New Jersey City University��Doctorate in Educational Technology Leadership��EDTC 804 Global Issues in Educational Technology Leadership���

Keywords: Environmental scan, educational response, covid, South Africa, K-12, higher education

• Brief background of country: South Africa�As indicated by the world map below, South Africa is located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa.�Slightly less than twice the size of Texas, it has 1,219,090 sq. km �with a population of 56,463,617 (July 2020 est.), 64.8 years of life expectancy at birth and infant mortality rate of 27.8 deaths/1,000 live births�87% of literacy (age 15 and over can read and write)�GDP (Gross Domestic Product): $349.3 billion (2017 est.)– real growth rate: 1.3% (2017 est.)- GDP per capita (per head): $13,600 (2017 est.). �Unemployment Rate: 27.5% (2017 est.)�Education expenditures: 6.2% of GDP (2018)����

Brief background of the educational system in South Africa

• During apartheid, the educational system in this part of the world was racial (racial system of education and training in South Africa during apartheid)
• 1994 marked the introduction of a unitary non-racial system of education and training in South Africa (Lomosfky et al., 2010)
• According to Lomosfky et al. “A major paradigm shift in education policy has reflected a move from a dual, special and general education system towards the transformation of general education to recognize and address the diverse learning needs of all learners.”
• Introduction of a new national curriculum to accommodate a diverse range of system and learner needs. 
• Commitment to the development of an inclusive education and training system.

���Overview of educational system pre-covid�k-12 in South Africa before Covid�Students were going to school normally and teachers were in classrooms teaching as usual. ��

Higher Education in South Africa Pre-Covid �Students were campus studying and lecturers were giving lectures and administrators at graduations.

Covid-19 deaths statistics in South Africa

What happened to school in South Africa when Covid started and become severe?�They were locked down. �No school from K-12 to High Education �For the poorest 80% of learners in South Africa, virtually no curricular learning took place during lockdown (Spaull, 2020)

National Response

• South Africa’s choice to re-open schools is in keeping with a number of other countries that have had far greater COVID-19 outbreaks and sometimes shorter lockdown periods. These countries include China, Denmark, Israel, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands (Spaull, 2020).

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• South Africa’s government has introduced precautionary measures such as temperature checks, reduced class sizes, holding classes outside, and spacing desks further apart (Spaull, 2020)

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National Response (continued)

• The Department of Basic Education in South Africa considered to bring children and teachers back to school

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• It started with younger children first

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• Younger children are far less likely to catch or transmit the COVID-19 virus, so bringing them back to school first is the safest approach: for them, for their teachers, and for the health of our economy and society as a whole (Spaull, 2020)

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Comparison between South Africa and some selected countries (South Korea, Spain, China and Italy) about Covid�South Africa has a considerably smaller number of infections and fatalities compared to any of the countries reviewed below

South Africa’ s response to the pandemic

• K-12 reopened face to face in September 2020
• Guidelines (Testing for Covid, wearing of mask, for instance)

to follow to before and while attending schools

• Temporarily replacing high-risk individuals, such as those

older than 60 or those with diabetes and other pre-existing

conditions (Spaull, 2020)

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South Africa’ s response to the pandemic (continued)�k-12 in South Africa with the reopening of schools�Holding classes outside while observing social distancing in South Africa.

South Africa’ s response to the pandemic (continued)�Higher Education went fully online�

• What was apparent was that there was a ‘new normal,’ with all teaching and learning activities taking place fully online, and academic staff having to rapidly prepare and capacitate themselves for this (Motala et al., 2020).

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• Higher education in South Africa is at its early stage to transition to remote teaching and learning.

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South Africa’ s response to the pandemic (continued)�Challenges faced by Higher Education now fully online

• Reflecting on the South Africa University’s response to the pandemic by going fully online, Motala et al.(2020), point out a number of issues that became evident, both in terms of access to learning and the broader societal context in which the online learning is taking place.

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South Africa’ s response to the pandemic (continued)�Challenges faced by Higher Education now fully online

• According to Motala et al. the following factors comprise student learning at University level in South Africa:
• No access to a device inclusive of a laptop or smartphone (impacts on how to learn if the medium or means to learn is absent);
• Either no network coverage or limited coverage;
• Cost of data;
• Limited bandwidth;
• Living conditions not conducive to studying;
• Other psychosocial factors.

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South Africa’ s response to the pandemic (continued)�Higher Education went fully online

• Motala et al. also insist on a future research agenda on how to develop an equitable teaching and learning strategy in order to adapt to a post Covid world, providing a better and more just future for students and youth.

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References�

• Africa :: South Africa — The world factbook. (n.d.). Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
• Lomofsky, L., & Lazarus, S. (2010). South Africa: First steps in the development of an inclusive education system. Cambridge Journal of Education, 31(3), 303-317. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640120086585
• Motala, S., & Menon, K. (2020). In search of the ‘new normal’: Reflections on teaching and learning during Covid-19 in a South African university. Southern African Review of Education,, 26(1), 80–99.
• Spaull, N. (2020). COVID-19 and schooling in South Africa: Who should go back to school first? PROSPECTS. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-020-09470-5

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