Espiro Alberto Dauce

TEMA:
The Impact of COVID-19 on Education in Mozambique
Licenciatura em Direito

Universidade ISCED
Quelimane, Junho de 2022
 Espiro Alberto Dauce

TEMA:
The Impact of COVID-19 on Education in Mozambique

Trabalho de carácter avaliativo a

ser entregue na cadeira de Inglês,
leccionada pelo docente:
Dr. _________________________

Universidade ISCED
Quelimane, Junho de 2022
Índic
e
1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................3
2. Concept of Coronavirus.........................................................................................................4
2.1. Coronavirus Incubation Period...........................................................................................4
2.2. Covid-19..............................................................................................................................4
2.3. Symptoms of COVID-19....................................................................................................4
2.4. Ways of Transmission of COVID-19.................................................................................5
2.5. Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19.............................................................................5
2.6. Prevention and Control of COVID-19................................................................................5
2.7. The Impact of COVID-19 on Education.............................................................................6
2.7.1. Goals and Significance of this Study...............................................................................7
2.7.2. A Stylized Global Summary of the Facts.........................................................................7
2.7.3. The Backdrop to the Pandemic: Enormous and Growing Inequality and Social
Exclusion....................................................................................................................................8
3. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................9
4. Bibliographic References.....................................................................................................10
1. Introduction
The present work in an approach subordinated to the topic COVID-19, aims to
transmit knowledge about this disease, which is globally recognized as fatal..., it is known
that coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause various respiratory diseases, from
mild diseases such as constipation to more serious illnesses such as severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS). The first transmission to humans took place in Wuhan, China, in
November or December 2019.
As of early January 2020, the main source of infection was already human-to-human
transmission. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough
and tiredness. Other less common symptoms include muscle aches, sore throat, headache,
nasal congestion, conjunctivitis, loss of smell and taste, and skin rashes.
The COVID-19 pandemic shocked education systems in most countries around the
world, constraining educational opportunities for many students at all levels and in most
countries, especially for poor students, those otherwise marginalized, and for students with
disabilities. This impact resulted from the direct health toll of the pandemic and from indirect
ripple effects such as diminished family income, food insecurity, increased domestic
violence, and other community and societal effects.

3
2. Concept of Coronavirus
According to Wikipedia (2022), coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause
various respiratory illnesses, from mild illnesses like the common cold to more serious
illnesses like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Among other epidemics caused by
coronaviruses are the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003 and the Middle East respiratory
syndrome (MERS) epidemic in 2012.
SARS-CoV-2 is thought to be zoonotic in origin. The first transmission to humans
occurred in Wuhan, China, in November or December 2019. As of early January 2020, the
main source of infection was already human-to-human transmission (IDEM, 2022).
In January 2020, Chinese scientists published the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid sequence
so that laboratories around the world could develop PCR tests to detect infection with the
virus. On March 18, 2020, the first serological test for the detection of antibodies in the blood
was published. On March 21, the FDA approved the first point-of-care test (WIKIPÉDIA,
2022).
2.1. Coronavirus Incubation Period
UNICEF (2022) says that, on average, 4 days can extend from 2 to 14 days”.
However, as the investigation of this virus progresses, this period may change.
2.2. Covid-19
According to Wikipedia (2022), COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) is an
infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
CoV). -two). The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough and tiredness. Other less
common symptoms include muscle aches, sore throat, headache, nasal congestion,
conjunctivitis, loss of smell and taste, and skin rashes.
For Dos Santos (2022), COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-
2 virus and its main symptoms are fever, dry cough and respiratory difficulty. This disease
can start as a simple cold, but it can get worse and lead to death. The first cases appeared in
China at the end of 2019. It then spread to several other countries, which led the World
Health Organization to declare, on March 11, 2020, a pandemic state.
COVID-19 belongs to the coronavirus family. This family includes viruses that can
cause diseases in animals, including humans, such as various types of cold. COVID-19 is an
infection that begins with a condition similar to that of the flu and colds, however, it can
worsen and can lead to death (DOS SANTOS, 2022).

4
2.3. Symptoms of COVID-19
For Dos Santos (2022), COVID-19 has an incubation period (period between
contagion and the appearance of symptoms) of about 14 days. The main symptoms of the
disease are fever, dry cough and difficulty breathing. In addition, some patients may also
experience body aches, runny nose, fatigue, sore throat and diarrhea.
Symptoms usually appear mildly and gradually, and many patients can be cured
without the need for special treatment. However, some people may experience aggravation of
the disease, developing respiratory difficulty and may even die. Elderly people and
individuals who have certain health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart problems
and diabetes, are more prone to the disease worsening (DOS SANTOS, 2022).
2.4. Ways of Transmission of COVID-19
In the view of Dos Santos (2022), the main form of transmission of COVID-19 is
through contact with the patient, who, when coughing or sneezing, eliminates respiratory
droplets, which end up contaminating other people. In addition, when coughing or sneezing,
the patient can contaminate objects. A healthy person, when touching a contaminated object
and taking his hand to his mouth, nose or eyes, without first cleaning them, can also become
contaminated.
It is important to highlight that, in some cases, an infected individual can transmit the
disease, even before showing symptoms (DOS SANTOS, 2022).
2.5. Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19
Also for Dos Santos (2022), the diagnosis of COVID-19 is made by carrying out
laboratory tests using respiratory material collected from the patient. Two samples are
collected, if the disease is suspected.
So far there is no specific treatment for COVID-19, only the treatment of symptoms is
carried out. However, it is recommended that severe cases be referred to referral hospitals for
patient isolation and treatment, which basically consists of maintaining the functioning of the
body, including respiratory support. Mild cases are advised to maintain some home care, such
as rest and hydration, and are monitored by Primary Health Care (PHC) (DOS SANTOS,
2022).
2.6. Prevention and Control of COVID-19
Dos Santos (2022) says that, to prevent and also avoid the spread of COVID-19, some
care must be taken, such as:
 Wash your hands frequently with soap and water and, in the absence of these, sanitize
them using alcohol gel at 70%;
5
 When coughing and sneezing, cover your nose and mouth using a tissue, which should be
discarded afterwards, or the inner part of the elbow;
 Avoid greeting with handshakes, kisses and hugs;
 Keep the environments ventilated;
 Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose with your hands without proper hygiene;
 Do not share objects for personal use, such as cups and cutlery;
 Sanitize objects that are handled frequently, such as cell phones;
 Keep a distance of at least 1 meter from people who are coughing or sneezing;
 Avoid agglomerations;
 Health professionals should pay special attention to the use of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE), (DOS SANTOS, 2022).
2.7. The Impact of COVID-19 on Education
The COVID-19 pandemic shocked education systems in most countries around the
world, constraining educational opportunities for many students at all levels and in most
countries, especially for poor students, those otherwise marginalized, and for students with
disabilities. This impact resulted from the direct health toll of the pandemic and from indirect
ripple effects such as diminished family income, food insecurity, increased domestic
violence, and other community and societal effects, (DONELLY & PATRINOS, 2021).
Beyond these individual and community effects of the pandemic on students, and on
teachers and school staff, the pandemic also impacted education systems and schools.
Burdened with multiple new demands for which they were unprepared, and in many cases
inadequately resourced, the capacity of education leaders and administrators, who were also
experiencing the previously described stressors faced by students and teachers, was stretched
considerably. Inevitably, the institutional bandwidth to attend to the routine operations and
support of schools was diminished and, as a result, the ability to manage and sustain
education programs was hampered. Routine administrative efforts to support school
operations as well as initiatives to improve them were affected, often setting these efforts
back, (DONELLY & PATRINOS, 2021).
There have also been predictions of the likely impact of the pandemic, consisting
mostly of forecasts and simulations based on extrapolations of what is known about the
interruption of instruction in other contexts and periods. For example, based on an analysis of
the educational impact of the Ebola outbreaks, Hallgarten identified the following likely
drivers of school dropouts during COVID-19: (1) the reduction in the availability of
education services, (2) the reduction in access to education services, (3) the reduction in the
6
utilization of schools, and (4) lack of quality education. Undergirding these drivers of dropout
are these factors: (a) school closures, (b) lack of at-home educational materials, (c) fear of
school return and emotional stress caused by the pandemic, (d) new financial hardships
leading to difficulties paying fees, or to children taking up employment, (e) lack of reliable
information on the evolution of the pandemic and on school reopenings, and (f) lack of
teacher training during crisis. (HALLGARTEN, 2020, p. 3).
2.7.1. Goals and Significance of this Study
The first is that an understanding of the full global educational impact of the
pandemic necessitates an understanding of the ways in which varied education systems
responded (such as the nature and duration of school closures, alternative means of education
delivery deployed, and the goals of those strategies of education continuity during the
pandemic) and of the short-term results of those responses (in terms of school attendance,
engagement, learning and well-being for different groups of students). In order to understand
the possible student losses in knowledge and skills, or in educational attainment that the
current cohort of students will experience relative to previous or future cohorts, and to
understand the consequences of such losses, we must first understand the processes through
which the pandemic influenced their opportunities to learn. Such systematization and stock-
taking are also essential to plan for remediation and recovery, in the immediate aftermath of
the pandemic and beyond.
2.7.2. A Stylized Global Summary of the Facts
A full understanding of the educational impact of the pandemic on systems, educators,
and students will require an analysis of such impact in three time frames: the immediate
impact, taking place while the pandemic is ongoing; the immediate aftermath, as the
epidemic comes under control, largely as a result of the population having achieved herd
immunity after the majority has been inoculated; and the medium term aftermath, once
education systems, societies, and economies return to some stability.
Countries will differ in the timeline at which they transition through these three
stages, as a function of the progression of the pandemic and success controlling it, as a result
of public health measures and availability, distribution, and uptake of vaccines, and as a
result of the possible emergence of new more virulent strands of the virus which could slow
down the efforts to contain the spread. There are challenges involved in scaling up the
production and distribution of vaccines, which result in considerable inequalities in
vaccination rates among countries of different income levels. It is estimated that 11 billion
doses of vaccines are required to achieve global herd immunity (over 70% of the population
7
vaccinated). By May 24, 2021, a total of 1,545,967,545 vaccine doses had been administered
(WHO, 2021a), but 75% of those vaccines have been distributed in only 10 high income
countries (WHO, 2021c).

2.7.3. The Backdrop to the Pandemic: Enormous and Growing Inequality and Social
Exclusion
The pandemic impacted education systems as they faced two serious interrelated
preexisting challenges: educational inequality and insufficient relevance. A considerable
growth in economic inequality, especially among individuals within the same nations, has
resulted in challenges of social inclusion and legitimacy of the social contract, particularly in
democratic societies. Over the last thirty years, income inequality has increased in countries
such as China, India, and most developed countries. Over the last 25 years there are also
considerable inequalities between nations, even though those have diminished over the last
25 years. The average income of a person in North America is 16 times greater than the
income of the average person in Sub-Saharan Africa. 71% of the world’s population live in
countries where inequality has grown (UN, 2021). The Great Recession of 2008–2009
worsened this inequality (SMEEDLING, 2012).

8
3. Conclusion
During the course of this work, it was concluded that: Coronaviruses are a large
family of viruses that cause various respiratory illnesses, from mild illnesses like the common
cold to more serious illnesses like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It is an
infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
CoV-2). The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough and tiredness. Other less common
symptoms include muscle aches, sore throat, headache, nasal congestion, conjunctivitis, loss
of smell and taste, and skin rashes.
The main form of transmission of COVID-19 is through contact with the patient, who,
when coughing or sneezing, eliminates respiratory droplets, which end up contaminating
other people. In addition, when coughing or sneezing, the patient can contaminate objects.
To prevent and also prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The educational impact of the pandemic in each of these timeframes will likely differ,
as will the challenges that educators and administrators face in each case, with the result that
the necessary policy responses will be different in each case. The immediate horizon what
could be described as the period of emergency can in turn be further analyzed in various
stages since, given the relatively long duration of the pandemic, spanning over a year, schools
and systems were able to evolve their responses in tandem with the evolution of the epidemic
and continued to educate to varying degrees as a result of various educational strategies of
education continuity adopted during the pandemic.

9
4. Bibliographic References
Donnelly, R., & Patrinos, H. (2021). Learning loss during COVID-19: An early systematic
review. Covid Economics, 77(30 April 2021), 145–153.
DOS SANTOS, Helivania S. (Accessed on May 5, 2022). Covid-19. Taken from
https://www.biologianet.com/doencas/covid-19.htm?
msclkid=26fd5885cd5611eca672ffd10981d3cb
Hallgarten, J. (2020, March 31). Evidence on efforts to mitigate the negative educational
impact of past disease outbreaks. Institute of Development Studies. Reading, UK: Education
Development Trust, (Report 793).
Smeeding T. (2012). Income, wealth, and debt and the Great Recession; A great recession
brief. Retrievedfrom.
UNICEF (Accessed 5 May 2022). Important Information About Coronavirus. Extracted from
https://www.unicef.org/mozambique/informa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-sobre-o-coronav
%C3%ADrus-covid-19.
WHO. (2021c). Director General Remarks at the 2021 World Health Assembly. Retrieved 27
May, 2021,
WIKIPEDIA (Accessed on May 5, 2022). Covid-19. Taken from
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19.

10