Overview

Key findings

• Responding to the disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, 86% of respondents (parents/guardians) in M4Jam’s 2021 School Survey are ready for schools to reopen. Despite this, 55% of parents were unsure or not comfortable with their children returning to school due to the virus.
• While many schools did admirably well in quickly adapting to closures without having time to prepare or establish abaseline for online delivery, it is clear that the lack of reliable internet connectivity, devices and skills threaten to create divisions among the country’s children. Some have had the opportunity to forge ahead with their learning through the last year, while some have essentially skipped a year’s education.
• Online learning has not been the stopgap the government and many schools intended. 61% of parents said having no access to computers or suitable devices, children lacking technology skills and having no internet access, were the major barriers to their children’s continued education.
• Despite these responses, 81% of parents felt online learning could and should form part of the school curriculum going forward with 34% saying they would like the government to make remote learning accessible for all students.

Download the full report HERE

For more of M4Jam surveys click HERE