Budget 2021 and Covid-19 Learnings Applied

Gershom Aitchison, host · [02:59]I think the first step, Gavin, was identifying that blended learning, which is a term that we used, like everybody else initially, to describe a hybrid learning space. And just for clarity again, blended learning has been around for a long time. It's doing work in a classroom using an analog and a digital process. So in other words, typing in on a document while reading out of a textbook, which is a book lying on your table, or reading an article off your computer and then writing notes on it. That's a blended learning space. I think that it's very much a 21st century skill. Everybody, doesn't matter what work you're doing, has got a computer in front of them and space on their desk to write. That's blended learning. Then hybrid learning is about communication. There's one aspect of it, so the technology is for communicating, and that creates the virtual presence in the classroom or allows people to connect with each other. But then the second part of it is using technology to do the work and represent the work. So hybrid learning is using technology for communication and doing the work, being in a physical space or in a digital space.

Unidentified speaker, intro voice or played clip · [04:06]Parents must have thought, well, my child's sitting in front of a laptop, they're doing digital learning, when initially it was just really being used for communication. There wasn't actually any hybrid learning or teaching happening. It was just video conferencing, essentially.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [04:19]If you're sitting in front of a computer and you're watching a YouTube video, and from that you're taking notes, and then you are completing an assignment online, that is blended learning because you're taking notes on a piece of paper, but it is not hybrid learning. That is online learning, because you're not engaging with another person. There is no communication happening with another person. So hybrid learning is doing all of that, but communicating with somebody or a class, like a teacher face-to-face or classmates face-to-face, so that you can bring them into the discussion and the learning process as well.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [05:06]That's a very complex question, Gavin, because it's very much part of the hybrid project that we're working on. I can't answer that question fully at the moment, because part of that process is a design process we're going through with the students and the teachers, and that will complete itself at the end of this year. But what I can say is that a stable internet connection, 10 megs at least, is very, very important. Some of the biggest frustrations in this term, and when you said earlier what worked and what didn't work, what didn't work was kids who didn't have a stable internet connection. It is paramount to the success of the space. It's paramount to the, the flow of the learning as well, because it doesn't disrupt when teachers are going, where are you, where are you? And it doesn't disrupt for the other learners when the class is interrupted. The second thing is computers that work. Every computer needs to have eight gigs of RAM in it. It needs to be 15.6 inch screens for the students if we can do that. And I think it should have a numpad on the side. That's ideal for me because it allows for the biggest screen possible. It allows for the most input options and things like that. Obviously a webcam, second screen is very, very important. And with ESKIM and their problems in this country, I think a UPS is very, very important as well. But it's not just for the laptop or the computer, it's also to keep the, the internet fiber going. I also, in, in part of this discussion with the learners and the teachers is that your desk and your working space at home, doesn't matter if you're a student or a teacher, If you're off campus, your desk and space needs to be big enough that you can have all of that on your desk, plus enough space to have a textbook and an A4 book open in front of you to facilitate the blended learning process as well.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [10:41]That's a very big question, Gavin, and I think it's something from a social aspect that we need to explore and understand. Certainly, 2021 is, even if it is a rinse and repeat of 2020 in terms of COVID lockdown, et cetera, because we know what it looks and feels like at this point, our reactions, the way that we deal with it is going to be very, very different. Our philosophy at Edu Inc and what we discussed with the board is that We are preparing for it to be a rocky road like it was in 2020, and our plan is to make sure that we are ready for that, and if the high road happens that it's not, then we're just going to benefit from that space. Regardless of COVID or not in 2021 and moving forward, there is going to be a time and a space where the learners once every two weeks or so are going to be at home for the day doing digital studying, doing learning from home. And I just want to take this moment just to also just clarify once more the concept that you're talking about, and that is no one at Edu Inc at this point has done learning online this year. So if a student is saying, Mom, I want to do online learning, or parents saying, I want to put my child into online learning, you haven't experienced that yet. What you've experienced is learning from home. Online learning is differentiated from schooling at home, which we see as a hybrid solution, because online learning has very little high contact and rich interactions. It is very much student-driven and not driven by the teacher. The teacher doesn't have much role in that space, whereas in the hybrid situation, which Edu Inc has been doing, this whole lockdown, our students have had face-to-face teaching. There's been high contact, there've been very rich interactions, and I think that's the difference. So if you're thinking, I'm going to do online learning or carry on with online learning, you haven't had that experience yet, it is very different from what Edu Inc offered this year.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [17:46]We managed to divert funds from line items that were not being used or being underutilized. We also have a capital element within that space that we would have used for painting lines on the multi-court, for example, or upgrading classrooms or something like that, that we diverted away from the physical campus, which was not being used. But COVID cost Edu Inc 154,538 rand this year. And I'm being very specific so that the students listening to this and the parents listening to this can understand exactly what we were dealing with. We diverted 99,923 rand from printing, paper, outings, school photos, et cetera. And we diverted 54,614 rand from our development levy and capital improvements to buy the technology What we primarily spent the COVID money on was equipping the teachers with technology so they could effectively facilitate the face-to-face teaching that they were doing, PPE and sanitization equipment to comply with the various, and I mean various, health, government, education departments. The upgrading of the school Wi-Fi, we found that when the students did come back and all the devices were connected, that it was not working optimally, and there was a lot of frustration around that. And there were other COVID-related activities, such as driving around delivering lab equipment to students and EGD equipment and technology to teachers and all of that kind of support. We are proud that we've stuck to our guns in not passing those costs on to the parents. I think that it has helped alleviate some of the stress financially this year that some parents might have felt, and we'll continue to do that. That's what our plan is.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [21:13]Our biggest expense is teacher salaries. I think it accounts for almost two thirds of the expenses every year and what we have to budget for. It's not just paying a salary, it's about the massive investment that Edu Inc puts into teacher training, upskilling our teachers, and making sure that they are delivering as they should. It's a double-edged sword, because while we get great delivery of service from our teachers and great engagement from them, and great investment from them, they are also highly sought after by other schools. As the leadership of Edu Inc, and in conjunction with the board, there's a lot of discussion around the retention of teachers and maintaining the skill sets that we've developed over time. One of the things that happens annually, which is a great benchmark, is that we take part in their SASA salary surveys. We understand what the going rates are for teachers in other private schools. So alignment of our salaries is not overpaying the teachers, it is giving them a competitive salary, A, so that they are content and happy in the workspace, B, so they may be more reluctant to be looking at what's happening on the other side of the fence, and C, that they are suitably remunerated for the excellent work they do. Edu Inc is based on an entrepreneurial model. Teachers don't just get bonuses and thirteens checks for the sake of getting a thirteens check. There is a rigorous termly appraisal process that they go through for their bonuses as well as their salary increases. We budget six and a half percent salary increases at Edu Inc for the teachers. Because of the support of the parents this year in paying their school fees and keeping the school going, we have maintained that six and a half percent. The thirteens checks look like they are on par and that the money is available for the teachers who paid that. They will go through the appraisal process so that we know what percentage of that thirteenth check they're going to get. I can tell you right now that the teachers have done an absolutely amazing job this year. And I think that the students and the results that we are seeing through this process is going to be testament to that. So that's what I mean by aligning the teachers' salaries. It's about paying them what they deserve for the efforts they put in and making sure that we retain our good staff and the enthusiasm of the teachers as well.

Gary Sayers, guest · [27:28]Gavin, the plan was always not to have double-digit increases in any given year, but we maintained a single-digit percentage increase. The average across the grades is nine percent.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [27:42]One of the contributing factors to it not being double digits is curriculum fee increase for 2021. Marginal. In some cases, it's negative for some grades because of us not being at school and there being a little reserve in that space. So it helped us keep the, the curriculum fee down.

Unidentified speaker, intro voice or played clip · [27:59]So nine percent increase, six and a half percent increase for teachers, where's the two and a half percent?

Gershom Aitchison, host · [28:05]Every ninety thousand rand I need in the budget is one percent increase. In order for us to execute the hybrid project, as well as budget for the PPE next year, that is between two hundred and two hundred and fifty thousand rand. That's where the extra two and a half percent is coming from.

Unidentified speaker, intro voice or played clip · [28:21]And you're maintaining the philosophy of the fee you see is the fee you pay, no additional invoices, no bills for PPE, no, here's an instruction, go and buy another laptop.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [28:31]One hundred percent. As the frustration levels in learners grow, I think there may be purchases of a laptop at home or something like that. We're not going to be passing on any additional costs to the parents. Technology will be available at school for the students. And that if they are coming to school, they don't need to bring their technology to school. In fact, I don't want them to bring their technology to school. One of the biggest disruptions that we had in the term three was the cell phones at school, and we've always known that that's why Edu Inc has had a no cell phone policy. From January, it's going to be no cell phones again. Leave your technology at home. We will have it, except if you've got a concession, as some of the learners have, that to use technology in that space.