On March 15 2020, after a mere four weeks on campus as a first-year BA student, I — along with every other person in the country — was told to stay at home until further notice. Now, 767 days later, I am still waiting to be allowed to be back into an in-person lecture.
If schools were able to return to in-person teaching, how can public universities keep their doors shut to students — particularly with unreliable access to electronics, power and the internet?
Higher learning institutions are slowly — I cannot but emphasise the slowness of their Covid response — allowing first years and postgraduates to return to campus for in-person lectures.
As a third-year student who has spent all this time online, I believe R53,000 a year is a bit steep for slide shows and readings. The situation has been tough on the 2020 first years, who I believe are now being waited out while new students are prioritised.
Still, the response to Covid by SA universities has taught aspiring professionals such as myself a crucial characteristic of success: self-reliance.
Seth Thorne
Houghton
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