VIDEO: We need to reintegrate learners who have dropped out during the Covid-19 lockdowns

South Africa’s school dropout rate has tripled following disruptions to education brought on by the pandemic. Rahima Essop, Head of Communications and Advocacy at the Zero Dropout Campaign, speaks to the Voice of America about this. She explains that dropout is not just the problem of the individual, family or even community. Instead dropout is a problem that affects the country as a whole. Now more than ever before we need a coordinated and sustained national dropout prevention plan. The longer it takes to get learners back to class, the less likely they are to return. This is one of the reasons why it’s imperative that schools ramp up their reintegration programmes.