Lilian Hope Mpiriirwe: You will Be Remembered

 What next for our children as schools are still closed?

By Dickson Tumuramye

We asked our children to tell us the plans they have since schools are still closed. Each one of them gave us their planned activities. We had an adopted girl in S.3. She told us that she had lost hope after spending three years in the same class. She was in S.3 in 2019 but she did not perform well. We encouraged her to repeat it, not knowing that COVID-19 would hit us and turn things around. She was meant to be finishing S.4 in 2021, but alas, she is still in the same class. She frankly told us that she opted to drop out of school and start working.

This girl is not alone who has lost hope and dropped out of school. I have heard of other adolescents who have dropped out of school thinking that they have outgrown their respective classes. Some have been impregnated and others have married.  When you ask children the class they are in, you see them struggling to give an exact answer because they are also confused.  Since March 18, 2020, the lower primary has never been at school again.

Our son preaching on one of the Sundays at home

I lead a fellowship of different families and we hold a family service every Sunday. The children's common prayer request is for schools to open. How can parents handle children in these unprecedented times as many of them are frustrated because schools are still closed?

As the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) is still talking about vaccinating at least 65% of teachers and older children without giving the public a clear program when schools will be opened, many learners are seeing no future. When we hear speculations of the third wave, our hopes of seeing schools opened become so slimy. Others hear that schools may open next year. The majority of the children are at home doing nothing. Some of their parents lost jobs or businesses and they are struggling to meet basic needs. This too has increased their challenges and tested their parenting.  

Parents should not give up since we are the pillars of our families. We should also not let our children lose hope because this situation will not remain like this forever. It is our responsibility to provide guidance to our children. It is also our primary role to plan for them. They are not the ones to plan for us or for themselves alone. When a leader shows any weakness, the followers will definitely lose hope as well. This calls us to remain courageous.

There is going to be increased inequality in the education system. Some schools have continued to teach their learners online, or take notes to children in their respective homes and do a weekly assessment. Some parents are doing homeschooling. They hire teachers privately and have bought books to ensure their children continue with their classes normally and no one will repeat any class by the time schools open. However, we know that the school calendar for 2020 for some classes is not yet completed. These are some challenges that even the MoES and some schools will have to handle.

All is not yet lost. If you have children who are not studying from home, ensure they are doing other things. Informal education becomes very vital here for interactive and skills engagement practices. Make sure that children are not just seated. Since the lockdown started last year, what new skill has your child learnt? What new innovations have you taught them? What are income-generating strategies/skills are they practicing? How many times have you sat them down to discuss their future as schools are still closed? What soft skills have they acquired? What positive things will they remember about this pandemic in the future? Teach them skills like personal self-management, social, drug resistance, critical thinking among others. Engage them in home chores daily during this lockdown.

There are some organizations that are providing different services online for children who are still at home.  There are many free virtual classes aimed at providing skills development to children. These are opportunities you should not miss. You may be struggling with data or have no Smartphone, but even then, you can’t remain behind forever.

Reach out to schools that are doing online learning and enroll your child there so that your child doesn’t lose any time. Buy school textbooks that follow the curriculum and get a teacher to continue helping your children from home. If you can’t afford it alone, talk to your neighbors and mobilize children together but keep small numbers so that MoES will not charge you with disobeying their rules and regulations and non-observance of SoPS.

Don’t let your children get mental health challenges, use drugs and other substances due to boredom or self-rejection at home. Avoid domestic violence as a family and keep your family together in one accord.

The writer is a child advocate, parenting coach, and marriage counselor

tumudickson@gmail.com