Message from the Chief Executive Officer
Welcome to our Adopt-a-School Foundation Newsletter.
As we near the end of the year, it is with great sadness that we announce the tragic loss of a member of our Board, Lucky Moeketsi. Lucky was an invaluable member of the Board of Adopt-a-School Foundation. She worked well with Management and was a solid support for the Adopt-a-School team. She was deeply involved in the development and implementation of our strategy and led with innovative ideas and valuable insight. Her indelible impact on Adopt-a-School Foundation will be sorely missed.
We continue to keep Lucky’s family and friends in our thoughts.
With the country still in Level One Lockdown, with better movement and economic activity, we are still grappling with significant challenges bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The education sector has struggled to ensure that teaching and learning are available for all grades, to ensure completion of the 2021 academic year. Completing the 2021 academic year is vital, especially for over 890 0000 Grade Twelve learners who are writing their final examination. Our main focus is to assist and support all schools under our adoption programme to ensure teaching and learning continues amid the pandemic.
Lockdowns and increased infections have caused the education system to lose valuable teaching and learning time According to UNICEF, about half a million learners living in informal urban and rural settings having not returned to the classroom. The learner dropout rate has also been visible in our schools.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the need for South Africa to reimagine the delivery of education through technology. Remote learning has been a lifeline for some children but for the most vulnerable in the marginalised communities of South Africa, remote learning is simply out of reach. Access to the devices, data and skills necessary to navigate online resources are simply not possible for many schools. We acknowledge the relief efforts made by our partners to assist schools under Whole School Development, providing curriculum integration solutions and to mitigate other adverse socio-economic effects of the pandemic in school communities.
Despite the many challenges, Adopt-a-School Foundation has kicked-off some exciting new infrastructure, curriculum, and social welfare projects in various parts of the country.
Furthermore, I would like to give well wishes to the matric class of 2021 as they prepare hard to sit for their final examinations in November.
Lastly, as South Africa continues to pursue its vaccinations goals, we hope that opportunities to resume regular schooling for the 2022 academic year will arise.
Let us stand together in our fight against COVID-19.
