Lost School time might lower lifetime earnings for lockdown-hit children

Livemint     12th November 2020     Save    

Context: India's pre-existing disparities in resources and learning outcomes mean reduced earnings throughout children's lives as historically seen by shutting schools for long.

Impact of school shutdowns amid pandemic:

  • Decrease in lifetime earnings: According to the World Bank, South Asian children of 2020 will be poorer by an average of $5,813 by the time they wrap up work life. 
      • For, E.g. A 3 months' teacher's strike in Argentina decreased 3% of students' earning in their 30s.
  • Loss to National GDP: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) pegs India's loss in this century at $12.5 trillion because of students' lost learning time.
    • It would cost the Asian region over $800 billion over time with India bearing more than half of the loss.
  • Loss in learning outcomes: As per the World Bank, effective learning for 12 years' schooling in South Asia, which was already low at 6.2 years, will further reduce to 5.5 years.
  • Unequal distress: As the wealthy took measures to reduce break-in learning while vulnerable sections (such as girls) lacking resources are left behind.
    • As per the Pratham Survey, mobile connectivity which is a basic tool for digital learning, even though improved from 37% in rural areas to 62%, still has not reached universal levels.
    • Among the children with well-educated parents, 89% got help in studies at home as schools remained closed. 55% of children with less-educated parents received such help.
    • Only 25% of less-educated families received calls from teachers for support.

Underlying issues with the education: which led to students' distress.

  • Lack of trained teachers: As per the Oxfam survey, 80% of government teachers haven't received digital training.
  • Poor educational infrastructure: States already lagging in learning levels performed worse in supporting students.
    • As per the Pratham survey in 2018, 71% of class 8th students in West Bengal could not divide numbers.
    • In Bihar, 82% of students didn't receive any study material, and only 10% of students watched online classes.

Conclusion: India's most disadvantaged kids will play catch-up once school reopens and face lifetime burden of loss of schooling unless remedial steps are taken.