Small children bear the brunt of lockdown

Writer: Elaine Davie.

The profound costs borne by small children and families as a result of the ongoing nationwide lockdown and school closures will be felt for at least the next 10 years.” This is the opinion of Dr Nic Spaull and co-author Dr Servaas van der Berg of The University of Stellenbosch’s Department of Economics.

Their research report entitled Counting the Cost: COVID-19 school closures In South Africa and its impact on children, which was issued earlier this month, expresses particular concern for the plight of the youngest of our children, especially those between the ages of 0–6 years.

This appears to be one of the most badly bungled of the government’s decisions regarding lockdown management, largely one suspects, because the Minister of Social Development (DSD), Lindiwe Zulu seems to have been missing in action throughout. ECD Centres which fall under this minister’s purview cater for roughly 2.5 million pre-schoolers countrywide, according to Prof Eric Atmore of Cape Town’s Centre for Early Childhood Development.

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