CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

COVID-19 is a type of coronavirus disease belonging to the family Corona viridae. The disease is thought to originate from bats and was spread to people through an unknown medium in Wuhan, China. Ideally, the condition is spread by inhalation or close interaction with infected droplets that have an incubation period between two and fourteen days. Today, there are thousands of infections and deaths that have been caused by the disease.

Moreover, the symptoms of the disease include fever, cough, sneezing, sore throat, difficulty breathing, and tiredness. Additionally, the diagnosis of the disease starts by gathering samples of the upper and lower respiratory tracts of the infected person. Also, chest X-rays and CT scan are used in the diagnosis stage. Basically, there is no precise treatment for the ailment, and this calls for the need to prevent the disease from spreading. Notable prevention strategies are isolation of the infected persons, proper ventilation, hand hygiene and use of personal protective equipment (Tepah, 2020).

Moreover, the coronaviruses can be seen under the electron microscope as it possesses a crown-like appearance. Ideally, the extensive spreading and associated health risks of the disease make it an essential pathogen. Primarily, human types of coronavirus are linked to minor clinical symptoms. Simultaneously, the World Health Organization (WHO) has conducted studies and lab research to identify the new strain of COV, designated as COVID-19 as reported by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV, 2020).

As a result, the way the illness spread from person-to-person has made it a public threat. In this case, COVID-19 is extremely transmissible, and this calls for the need to understand its epidemiology, transmission, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention so as to gain insight about the disease. All ages are at risk of getting the illness. This is because the ailment is transmitted through large droplets that result from coughing and sneezing by symptomatic individuals. In some instances, the infection can happen from asymptomatic individuals and before the beginning of symptoms.

As of March 2020, the WHO announced that there are about 87,317 cases of COVID- 19 globally as well as confirmed cases of deaths is 2,977 (WHO, 2020) . This implies that the disease symptoms are mild as only 3.42 per cent of patients with it have died because of the virus. At the same time, the high number of incidences and deaths has been identified in China. It is that 92 per cent of the total number of occurrences has been reported in Asia, mainly China (WHO, 2020).

Importantly, the confirmed incidences are clinically identified and laboratory-confirmed. Further, outside Asia, the number of cases and deaths differs due to the ongoing nature of the disease, population density, degree of testing and reporting, and timing of reducing strategies. The features of COVID-19 are categorized into the host of the virus, transmission mode and incubation period. In the first place, the Chinese horseshoe bat is the natural hosts and the terminal hosts are humans (Xavier, 2019).

Also, the transmission is from individual to individual through aerosol droplets. Lastly, the incubation period varies from two to fourteen days. Therefore, COVID-19 cumulative incidence differs depending on the country and incidences have been confirmed in almost all continents (Adjouda. E, 2020).

COVID-19 can be transmitted through direct exposure to infected animals, human-to- human and environmental contamination. Firstly, the initial cases of COVID-19 are associated with direct contact to infected animals and this was experienced at the seafood marketplace in Wuhan, China. Moreover, the virus can spread from one person to another, and this is considered to be the main form of transmission.

It is that the interaction with those with the disease can lead to getting the ailment as spreading happens from the release of respiratory droplets, mainly through coughing. Close contact with individuals with COVID-19 can result in transmission. In some instances, there is a possible spreading in closed areas because of raised aerosol concentrations (Bahia, K., & Suardi, S., 2019).

Several studies support that the COVID-19 virus has a development period of two to fourteen days. Equally important, the virus can spread through touching contaminated surfaces. This happens when it touches these surfaces and then transfers the virus to mucous membranes in the upper parts of the body, especially mouth, eyes, or nose. It implies that the virus remains active in surfaces that individuals are likely to touch on a daily basis.

As a matter of fact, environmental contamination is more likely to be a possible source of infection in environments where there is heavy viral contamination, mainly in an infected person’s household (Barba, D, 2020). As research is done in Singapore, reveals that viral RNA is detected on nearly all surfaces, such as handles, light switches, toilet bowl, and bed and handrails.

Necessarily, COVID-19 can persist in surfaces as it has been tested and confirmed that this virus may persist on inorganic surfaces for up to six to nine days without disinfection (Barba, D, 2020). Hence, COVID-19 can be transmitted in different ways, and this calls for the need for individuals to be aware of its transmission so as to keep themselves safe all the time.

With the case of Africa, available data shows that since the first case of COVID-19 was noted on the 14th February, 2020 in Egypt, a total of 196,254 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 5,341 deaths (Case Fatality Rate [CFR]: 2.7%) have been reported in 54 African countries as of 9 am EAT 9 June 2020 (18).

This figure is an estimation of 2.8% of all cases reported globally. The proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths reported by African sub-regions in the order of severity is as follows: Northern region (56,315 cases, 2,291 deaths), Southern region (53,749 cases; 1,108 deaths), Western region (42,762 cases, 843 deaths), Eastern region (22,740 cases, 662 deaths), and Central region (20,688 cases, 437 deaths (WHO, 2020).

The top three countries worst affected in each region as at the beginning of 9th June 2020 9 am. EAT stood as follows: Northern region (Egypt, 35,444 cases, 1,271 deaths; Algeria, 10,265 confirmed cases, 715 deaths; Morocco, 8,302 cases, 208 deaths), Southern region (South Africa, 50,879 cases, 1,080 deaths; Zambia, 1,200 cases, 10 deaths; Malawi, 443 cases, 4 deaths), Western region (Nigeria, 12,801 cases, 361 deaths; Ghana, 9,910 cases, 48 deaths; Guinea, 4,221 cases, 23 deaths), Eastern region (Sudan, 6,242 cases, 372 deaths; Djibouti, 4,278 cases, 31 deaths; Kenya, 2,862, 85 deaths), and Central region (Cameroon, 8,060 cases, 206 deaths; Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], 4,106 cases, 88 deaths; Gabon, 3,247 cases, 21 deaths (WHO, 2020).

By 4th August, 2020, a total of 968,020 COVID-19 cases and 20,612 deaths (CFR: 2%) had been reported in 55 African countries (WHO, 2020). The estimation of new COVID-19 cases reported by region still represented 5% of all cases globally. Below are the proportions of cases by sub-region: Southern region 65% (70,318), Northern region 12% (13,016), Western region 9% (9,638), Eastern region 11% (12,367), and Central region 3% (3,444). A total of 6 countries accounted for 80% of the new COVID-19 cases reported within the period in a descending order: South Africa (59%), Morocco (5%), Algeria (4%), Kenya (4%), Ghana (4%), and Ethiopia (4%) (WHO, 2020). South Africa (890), Djibouti (524), Sao Tome and Principe (437), Cape Verde (431), and Gabon (364) reported the most cumulative COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in Africa. Reported case fatality rates comparable to or higher than the global case fatality rate of 4% were noted in 11 African countries; Chad (8%), Sudan (6%), Liberia (6%), Niger (6%), Egypt (5%), Mali (5%), Burkina Faso (5%), Angola (5%), Algeria (4%), Sierra Leone (4%), and Tanzania (4%) (19) (WHO, 2020).

African CDC (2020) brief report on public health and social measure implementation indicated that these new cases decreased by 23% between 28th July and 10th August while new deaths increased by 11% within the same time period. Total COVID-19 cases exceeded 1 million for the first time which was cited as the peak period.

The decrease in new cases was attributed to South Africa, which recorded a 35% decline in newly reported cases, with data showing that the COVID-19 outbreak might have peaked in some provinces or districts that were earlier affected by the virus. Though South Africa still leads in new cases, Morocco, Kenya and Ethiopia reported rising case counts and new deaths. The number of tests performed per positive case has remained low (6 tests per case, see Table 1), suggesting that many cases are undetected.

With the low tests per case ratios in many African countries (e.g., Algeria, DRC, Egypt, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan), denoting poor testing capacity, and indications are that many cases on the continent are less likely to be detected. Therefore, reported decreases in new cases ought to be interpreted with caution in many countries. The month of October saw a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 populations. Again, 6 countries accounted for nearly 84% of the new COVID-19 cases; Morocco (31%), South Africa (18%), Libya (11%), Tunisia (9%), Kenya (7%), and Ethiopia (6%) by 27th October, (WHO, 2020).

Given that accurate mortality metrics are essential for assessing the risks and severity often associated with epidemic outbreaks like COVID-19, it is crucial to better understand these associated concepts unambiguously in the estimation of the current pandemic. The generally used metrics during infectious disease outbreaks are the case fatality rate (CFR), case fatality ratio, and case fatality risk, often used interchangeably (Andrianarison, F., & Nguem, B. E., 2020).

Fatality rate means a change in deaths per unit time; risk denotes an individual probability; whereas ratio represents a fraction of two numbers, usually of populations. Therefore, CFR commonly represents the ratio of the total estimated number of deaths to date, D(t), to the estimated number of all confirmed cases to date Nc (t) or an estimation of the number of deaths to date divided by the estimated total number of confirmed infected cases to date. Hence, these figures could be crucial for the estimation of the COVID-19 disease severity in Africa (Andrianarison, F., & Nguem, B. E., 2020).

Conventionally, the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and antibody tests are used to confirm SARS-CoV-2-positive patients based on population data. To establish accuracy D(t), the number of patients who actually die of COVID-19 should be appropriately be quantified. For instance, in Italy, deaths of patients with positive RT-PCR testing for SARSCoV-2 are reported as COVID-19 deaths and there could be similar cases across many countries.

Therefore, the central criteria for COVID-19-related deaths as a function of CFR are currently not clearly defined and may vary from region to region (24). Other mortality metrics like case fatality risk, denoted as the probability of death of an individual confirmed case within a period of time and infection fatality ratios (IFR), representing the number of deaths to date divided by the number of all infected individuals add to the confusion (Böttcher et al, 2020).

According to Böttcher et al. (2021), the further spread of SARS-CoV-2 in different countries, including those in Africa, makes it imperative that data on individual cases of death and recovery are easily stratified according to some specific COVID-19 mortality indices such as demographic and population heterogeneity, incubation period, health condition and a patient time of infection before confirmation is made on mortality estimates.

According to Gibbs (2002) “Teachers need to be able to survive the demands, threats and challenges within the diverse circumstances of teaching” He stated that an effective teacher needs the capacity to be persistent, flexible, and innovative on new teaching approaches and be prepared in the case of failure. For Stronge et al. (2004) the effective teacher has a psychological influence on the students and having a strong influence on their achievement. The world is currently struggling for free, equitable and quality education for all people, starting with basic education, secondary and finally higher education through Education for All (EFA) goals.

Parents and teachers in the Central African Republic said in June that there had been no teaching since school closed due to covid-19. A mother of a 6-year-old girl in Bangui said she tries to get her daughter to do revision exercises, and three times a week they listen to classes on the radio. “But it is a program which is not specific for each level of class. It’s too complex and their children have not had any support during this time of pandemic. I fear a drop in children’s level after all this time lost (Ombi, 2020).

Many students shared feelings of stress, anxiety, isolation, and depression, which they linked to the lack of contact with their school community due to covid-19 preventive measures. Tabi (2020) said “It’s stressful when I have to study all alone,” said Makena M., 2019, in Kenya. “I tend to think a lot about school and my friends,” said 15-year-old Kioko Y. from Kenya. “It makes me sad. I know my school has a counsellor, but we were never given contacts after we closed and before this, I had never gone to him.”

Many parents in Cameroon were burdened by costs associated with trying to continue educating their children during school closures due to covid-19. A father of four in Cameroon (Zanga, 2020) said, “Primary school is supposed to be free in Cameroon, but it is not. There are always contributions.” He said his younger children’s school was already demanding payment for the year’s final quarter, when it was closed. “Are schools going to blackmail? That if you don’t pay for your previous year, we won’t re-enroll your child for the next year?” The father of a 17-year-old in Lubumbashi, said that his daughter’s school sold them a syllabus to help her study at home for 150,000 FCFA (Tabi, 2020).

Three theories will be applied to this research which is related to the issue in concern as regarding the research. The theories are Albert Bandura learning theory, Piaget theory and Lev Vygotsky Zone of proximal development. Each of this theory provide insight on effective teaching and learning which is our research concern. The theories also elaborate the measures to be adopted for effective teaching and learning, including learning challenges.

Statement of the Problem

Formal education has always been carried out in institutions made up of structured classroom, where students and teachers usually meet to carry out effective teaching and learning. For some period of time, learning is no longer done as before where learners and students sit in class to learn, socialize, and interact with their peers and facilitators through face to face learning. This is due to the advent of covid -19.This pandemic has caused the educational system to change from the formal setting of full time learning to new systems of learning .

Following the outbreak of covid -19 and its effects on the human population, some preventive measures were put in place to curb the effects of the pandemic on the population and also to facilitate effective teaching and learning. In this situation students had for some time been required to learn from a distance through social media such as; television, radio, telephone, zoom, whatsapp among others (E-learning).

This new system of learning has nothing to do with leaners and students sitting in a class, thereby making it impossible for students to sit in class, socialize, and also learn from their peers. Also, looking at some aspects of the preventing measures put in place, some students from remote areas and those from low income families might not have the means to engage into  effective learning as compared to those from well to do families. Even some teachers might not be able to manipulate some gargets because they were not trained for that.

Above all, the teachers are not there to act as facilitators to guide and follow up the students. This new means of learning might cause some students not to actually learn because of school closure, online learning, physical distances and shift system of schooling. All these measures can cause some students to drop out of school because of lack of facilities and time. These methods can also cause teaching and learning not to be effective as some teachers and students have never come across the use of some of the equipment, talk less of being taught how to use them .This can cause low self-esteem to some students who can intend drop out of school.

It is for these reasons that this study seeks to investigate the impact of covid-19 preventive measures on school closure, online teaching and learning ,physical distances and shift system of schooling on effective teaching and learning in some selected schools in Fako Division.

Research Objectives

General Objective of the Study

To investigate the impact of school closure, online learning, physical distance and shift system of schooling as preventive measure of covid-19 on effective teaching and learning in some schools in Buea Municipality

Specific Research Objectives

1. To examine how school closure affected effective teaching and learning of students in Fako Division.
2. To investigate the extent to which online teaching influenced effective teaching and learning of students in Fako Division.
3. To evaluate the extent to which physical distance has influenced effective teaching and learning of students in Fako Division.
4. To examine the effect of shift system of schooling on effective teaching and learning of students in Fako Division

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