Times Of Swaziland: WALKING INTO A TRAP

WALKING INTO A TRAP
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The Editor on 07/07/2020 00:26:00


Sir,
I would first like to express my sincere gratitude for the undying efforts from
the Government of Eswatini for trying to curb these dire conditions brought by
this heavy-hearted coronavirus.
The people of Eswatini stand with you beloved leaders and support every decision
you take. In as much as we are proud of the decisions you’ve taken so far, we
are greatly disappointed by the latest decision of reopening schools. In as far
as the importance of education is concerned, there’s absolutely no reason to
put the health of our beloved citizens at risk.
Government has failed miserably to provide means for successful online learning
and the question is, can we trust them with human life if they underperformed in
handling a tiny necessity like online learning? The Ministry of Education and
Training promised to provide online learning data bundles for tertiary
institutions but they failed. They tried to teach through the media but this is
not successful too because this strategy will never work in rural areas for
reasons that were not considered before implementing it.
I have reasons to believe that the reopening of schools was a rushed decision,
which might become the gravest mistake the country has ever made. Trust me, as
parents we are not comfortable with letting our children out of our sight
because their safety is not guaranteed. We are talking about learners, people
who can hardly control themselves, so you cannot always say they will wear their
masks.
Methods
Teachers have always been taught of ideal teaching methods and my belief is that
those strategies cannot be implemented in a social distancing classroom
environment. Teacher to pupil consultation will not be possible, group
discussions will not be done too and this means that pupils are going to be
lectured. The way I see it, learners are going back to school for meaningless
learning. They will learn to pass and not to understand, and according to
educational idealists, this is not the kind of education for the modern society.
This is not the appropriate response to regain lost time, teachers will be
pressured to finish the syllabus on time, meanwhile forgetting the actual
importance of teaching for understanding. Abigail Adams concurs with the fact
that learning is not a known procedure with predicted results but a process of
careful consideration. “Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought
for with ardor and attended with diligence.”
The coronavirus trauma still exists and it is very much futile to say that
citizens of Eswatini must have faith in luck for the safety of their children.
When the country reported its first COVID-19 case, we were all appalled but now
that the numbers are rising, we act so relaxed. I don’t know if parents’
consent was asked for before placing their children’s lives in danger. This is
a global issue and it’s not affecting emaSwati alone, so we must try our
utmost best to stay safe not to play with fire. Before all this goes south and
parents blame it on government, it would be greatly appreciated that this
decision is revised. There is absolutely no compensation for human life!
MWEST