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

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.