By Ann Skelton

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on education around the world. The World Bank has described it as “the largest simultaneous shock to all education systems in our lifetimes.” Almost all schools in Sub-Saharan Africa have been closed. Ironically, for the millions of children who were not accessing education in the region, even prior to this year, the pandemic did not affect their right to education, although it may have impacted many of their other rights, as discussed by Nolan and Bueno de Mesquita in their blog on this site. But for children who were already in school, it was a major (albeit justifiable) limitation of their rights. School closures immediately amplified pre-existing inequalities because as some schools moved to online learning, many educators and learners in sub-Saharan Africa simply did not have the technology or the data to achieve this migration to the virtual education space. Now, as States in the region are considering a move out of the hard ‘lockdown’, reopening the economy and getting children back to school, the inequality in education continues to loom large.

Prior to COVID-19, more than half of the children who were not accessing primary education lived in Sub-Saharan Africa. Reports from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) have revealed that the rate at which children were out of school in Sub-Saharan Africa was not only alarming, but was also the highest in the world. Moreover, the same report showed that due to inaccessibility to quality education, about 130 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa who are of primary school age lacked basic numeracy and literacy skills, despite the fact that were attending school. So, while it is common these days to talk about ‘a new normal’ – being out of school and left behind was the old normal for millions of children.

As States begin to move forward from lockdown to living with the pandemic, most are attempting a phased rather than sudden return to work and school. UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Food Programme and the World Bank have spelled out the balancing of rights and considerations that is needed in their The Framework for Reopening Schools. Boiled down to the essentials, educators, learners and support staff can return to school when schools have been prepared (with the assistance and support of government) to provide the following: health and safety through sanitation, the provision of personal protective equipment, and a way to deal with class sizes so that social distancing is possible.

When it comes to school infrastructure, many schools are severely lacking the basics. This was very clear during lockdown when the lack of technology left the majority of sub-Saharan African children behind, but it is far more fundamental than that. The shame of state neglect in the form of schools that lack running water and proper toilets for teachers and learners is painfully revealed as the spotlight moves to getting schools to be ‘COVID-19 prevention ready’ to enable the safe return of learners. So too, large class sizes are an impediment to classrooms that enable social distancing.

I. The impact on their rights (and the rights of others such as teachers) regarding their return

Governments are required to assess the best interests of the children as the primary consideration in the decisions to re-open schools. Governments must also afford children the opportunity to express their own views on the re-opening of schools – something that has not been given much attention in the region. As Nolan has as made clear in her advisory note on school reopening,children live within families and communities, and their rights cannot be exercised in isolation from other right-holders. Therefore, the rights of those who teach and care for children also need to be factored in to school reopening plans.

II. The measures that need to be in place for children's safe return

So, what must be done to ensure the safe return of children in schools? Firstly, governments must carry out wide-ranging assessments and implementation of appropriate infection control procedures. Ideally, this must be done through waiting for local infection levels to decrease sufficiently – but interestingly, South Africa is reopening schools at a time when the number of new infections continues to rise. In fact, South Africa has one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 cases in Africa. Secondly, governments must ensure adequate facilities and equipment in terms of hygiene and personal protection equipment. Thirdly, they must establish screening and tests at local levels, and ensure that there are workable systems in place to track, trace persons who have come in contact with those infected. Lastly, they must ensure that there enough isolation centres for infected persons. In the alternative, governments can simply delay the re-opening of schools to better prepare for the safety of children, staff members, parents and care givers, and the larger community. The fact that some schools are ready to open whereas others are not, raises the question of equity.

III. The question of equity: If some schools are ready, others not - what should be done?

The UN Agency Framework for Reopening Schools  makes the assumption that scholars will not all return to school at the same time. The level of epidemic risk and the vulnerability of students differs across regions and even from one school to another. That makes it difficult to reopen schools the same way everywhere. The fact that certain schools might be ready to re-open means that inequalities in access to education will be perpetuated. Quality and equity challenges are manifested in terms of disparities in gender, regional location, minority groups, pastoral communities, and the poor. If some schools re-open and others are unable to, it deepens inequalities to learners and families who are already vulnerable and thus compounds the equity implications of the pandemic.

Some activists are saying: If some children cannot go back to school, then no children should go back to school. It is a great crisis moment in which the dramatic inequalities in education are in the spotlight – could it be a turning point? Is it a defensible option to hold out and refuse to allow reopening of any schools until all can return to schools with proper sanitation, and the space and sufficient teaching staff to have manageable class sizes a viable option? It’s a double-bind – because the very children who are in the schools least like to be COVID-19 ready for re-opening are the ones who are already on the receiving end of poor quality education, will probably have had no access to online learning since lockdown and, if they remain out of school for a lengthy period, are the most likely never to return to school. So, it seems to me that an all or nothing approach will not serve children well. Thinking about it from a remedial perspective I would say that because Education is an immediately realisable right, the plan for its full reinstatement, equally available to all, must start now, and the plan must cover all children, leaving none permanently behind. Phasing in is justifiable but Governments must use equitable and innovative re-entry strategies to improve the needs of all learners. The principled framework for reopening should be produced at the national level, but a contextual application is essential, with learners and parents and educational professionals fully engaged in the discussions. Accountability remains at the relevant level of government. Civil society pressure must be relentless in ensuring that strict timelines for the safe reopening of all schools are set and adhered to, and that gains in improved infrastructure and reduced class sizes are not just temporary measures for an educational triage, but become part of a permanently more equitable education system into the future.

Prof Ann Skelton (BA LLB LLD) has been a human rights lawyer in South Africa for 25 years, specialising in children’s rights. She was at the forefront of child law reform through the SA Law Reform Commission. Ann is a Professor of Law at the University of Pretoria where she holds the UNESCO Chair in Education Law in Africa. She is an advocate who has been played a leading role in landmark litigation, including education cases. She has published widely both locally and internationally. In 2012 she was awarded the Honorary Worlds Children’s Prize. She is currently a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and chaired the expert committee that drafted the Abidjan Principles on state’s obligations regarding public education and the regulation of private of education. Twitter:@askelton_CCL