On Friday 28th May 2021, the minister of Health and spokesperson for the National Crisis Committee, Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal has announced, during the press briefing, the decision to extend the sanitary confinement until 30th June 2021. Although the Ministry of Education has not yet officially announced its decision on school reopening, questions on the possibility of another readjustment to the school calendar have become imminent.
The second phase of the reopening post-lockdown, with strict health controls, was due to end on 1st June 2021 with the lifting of these confinement measures. However, a new outbreak of infection, described by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Housing, Steeven Obeegadoo as a “third wave”, has prompted the High-Level Committee and the Council of Ministers to take action.
An increase in performance despite the daunting challenges
To recall, the results of the PSAC exams were out on the 27th May 2021. The Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) has announced an overall pass rate of 73.91% in the PSAC exams – representing an increase of 0.5% from the 2019 batch, which was 73.86%.
According to Brenda Thanacoody Soborun, the director of the MES, the overall performance of the candidates was in line with the expectations. Faced with several days of delayed classes due to the Covid-19 situation or bad weather, many of these classes were held online. However, would it be possible to maintain the school calendar and replace the face-to-face classes with virtual classes?
Can virtual learning replace classrooms?
The Co-Founder of Lighthouse School and spokesperson for the Association of Mauritian International Schools (AMIS), Susanna Dalais has stated that students have dealt with two lockdowns that have been detrimental to their academic development and social skills – which could also set them back academically. Although every school holds different philosophies, on-screen learning has limitations. Lighthouse School kept its school calendar throughout the lockdown and subsequent restrictions by providing online instruction. However, she adds that: “I would emphatically state that online learning does not in any way replace the benefits of in-person learning. Although we are doing it, it is second-best. Most primary-aged children cannot and should not spend more than an hour on a screen per day. Simplistically stating that schools should just “go online” does not take into account all that it takes to make that happen, and its limitations.”
With schools reopening, would it mean that children would be at risk?
According to the former Director of Health Services, Dr Gujadhur, the virus continues to spread throughout the whole population and thus, children are not safe. He suggests that it would be better to hold off the reopening of school as the recent cases appear to be widespread throughout the country. However, Susanna Dalais argues that: “According to health-based metrics and research, there is no valid reason to keep children out of school in Mauritius. It is crucial for adults to contribute by getting vaccinated and reaching the target of 60% of the population vaccinated. At the rate we are going, that will take more than a year (though it should not), and children should not have to wait another day.”
