Covid-19: Africa Educates Her Campaign with Sofonie Dala. Day 5

Africa Educates Her Campaign is live in Angola.

Life during the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult for parents and children alike. The return to school is an important and hopefully welcome step.

We are slowly seeing an increasing number of children return to the classroom. More than 1 billion students are still out of school due to nationwide school closures.

Today we are doing something different. We want to know what our boys are thinking about this issue. We invited Cândido to share his challenges during covid-19 pandemic.

What precautions should the school be taking to prevent COVID-19 virus from spreading?

School reopenings should be consistent with each country’s overall COVID-19 health response to help protect students, staff, teachers and their families. Some of the practical measures that schools can take include:

1. Staggering the start and close of the school day;

2. Staggering mealtimes;

2. Moving classes to temporary; spaces or outdoors;

3. Holding school in shifts, to reduce class size;

Water and hygiene facilities will be a crucial part of schools reopening safely. Administrators should look at opportunities to improve hygiene measures, including handwashing, respiratory etiquette (i.e. coughing and sneezing into the elbow), physical distancing measures, cleaning procedures for facilities and safe food preparation practices. Administrative staff and teachers should also be trained on physical distancing and school hygiene practices.

All the interviews are being conducted in Portuguese.

Note: this is a collection of stories via video from girls in primary, secondary and tertiary level who have been affected by the lockdowns.

Key questions answered are:

What is your name?

What is your age?

Country?

What level of education are you in?

How has COVID-19 affected you as a student?

What are the challenges you are facing or have faced in your pursuit to continue learning during the school lock-down?

And what do you think educators, government and development players can do to ensure every girl goes back to school after the lock-down?

The African Union International Center for Girls & Women's Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA) is calling upon its Alumni and young people across the African Union Member States to work together and ensure girls and women in the continent continue learning during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sign up to be part #AfricaEducatesHer and join other African youth and networks taking action to safeguard girls education and getting girls back to school.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1-GwJpUv_SFPzC9o5ASZPJkR0hah7kCY9ZzZbOj1KniyKrQ/viewform