Many students across the country have had to reacquaint themselves with what school means during the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For some students in the nation's capital, classes have continued uninterrupted in the comfort of their own homes on online platforms like Google Class and Zoom.

For others, it has meant taking worksheets from their schools and working on them at home, with the responsibility of teaching placed on parents now more than ever. For those living in remote areas such as Dawro Zone in the Southern Regional State, it has meant a complete standstill. Students have been disbanded until further notice.

The school compound of Woldehane Secondary & Preparatory School, in Gena Wereda, Dawro, lies testament to that. It has been eerily vacant for months now.

Students there have little to no access to radio and television, and they will remain at home until they are called back again, according to Amde Behailu, a teacher in Woldehane Secondary & Preparatory School.

"School has stopped since the official announcement was made in March," said Amde. "Most families here have no televisions or radios, and, this goes without saying, but the students don't have mobile phones either."

The school, with over 1,000 students, has continued to pay its teachers but has no means of continuing classes and has had its doors shut for over two months now.

The decision to close schools was handed down on March 16, 2020, as a way to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Initially levied for two weeks, it has been extended indefinitely, revealing big disparities in the learning process for students throughout the country.

The government has also extended all final year examinations throughout all grades; a decision that will impact 26 million students in the country. This includes national qualification examinations for grade eight and grade 12 matriculation examinations.

Though there is an understanding that it will be difficult to reach students in remote areas where even electricity might not be accessible, the Ministry is working on facilitating and continuing the learning process through television and online platforms like Telegram, according to Haregua Mamo, communications director at the Ministry of Education.

“We're providing the materials so that students can continue the learning process while at the same time ensuring that they'll be engaged in their homes since their physical interaction must be limited,” she said.

The examinations, postponed indefinitely, will be conducted once it is possible to work and regularly interact, according to the communications director.

"We don't expect the education process to be the same for all students so we will not be jumping straight to exams," she said, "but rather providing a short period of school to make sure students have been brought up to date before they sit for their exams."

Ensuring that students will be given revisions is equitable as students come from varying backgrounds, according to Tirussew Teferra (PhD), Ethiopian Education and Training Roadmap Project Leader.

“This is a decision that needs to vigorously involve teachers since they know their students best and what the progress was like while the schools were closed,” he said.

The decision to postpone exams and thereby pass students into the next grade or stage holds true for university undergraduate and Technical & Vocational Education & Training (TVET) students as well. Both public and private learning institutions cannot graduate or progress their students to the next grade as per the Ministry of Science & Higher Education.

The plan here is for a short-term crash course to be completed upon the students' return to schools followed by the examinations that will allow them to pass on to their next year or graduate, according to Andualem Admassie (PhD), director-general at the Higher Education Relevance & Quality Agency, the regulatory body.

"One justification for this decision is that students at this level aren't expected to have the resources to continue an online education successfully," said Andualem. "This is especially true in rural areas where even connectivity is very poor."

The crash course, when universities reopen, will be delivered free of charge. At the same time, the current methods of teaching students through different online platforms are provided at a minimum discounted rate of 25pc. This is a decision that has come from the Agency and is applicable to all public and private institutions.