The Loss Of Learning

Context: Prolonged school closures are jeopardising futures. We need a roadmap to safe reopening of classrooms now

Impact of pandemic on education

• Impact on mental development on children: 
  • Virtual learning has reduced the “collaborative magic of the classroom into little more than an instructional video”.
  • Teachers try their best but have limited ability to teach fundamental concepts and enforce discipline; young students have limited ability to learn.
  •  Behavioural changes such as impatience and aggression are emerging. Older children are susceptible to depression.
• Accessibility issues: According to Save the Children, during the first wave in 2020, three out of every four children had no internet access, and four out of five children reported obstacles to learning (including the inability to understand and too many chores).
• Burden on parents: Many parents cannot assist their children given their own lack of education.
  • Many children have been deprived of mid-day meals, thereby increasing the burden on already struggling families — there are reports of children being forced into child labour and marriage.
  • Things may be easier for those who can work remotely, but some, usually women, have left or will leave their jobs.
• Use of school staff as frontline workers: School teachers were deployed for elections and management of quarantine centres. More than 1,500 teachers died in Uttar Pradesh alone — an irreparable and avoidable loss.
• Economic loss: According to the Asian Development Bank, every year of schooling lost is equivalent to 9.7% less in potential earnings; 
  • The estimated present value of learning losses due to prolonged school closures in developing Asia (including India) is $1.25 trillion or 5.4% of the region’s 2020 GDP.

Way Forward: Nothing is risk-free. Schools cannot remain closed until each child is vaccinated because this may take years.

• Vaccinate teachers on priority: According to a recent Israeli study, for every 20 percentage point increase in the share of vaccinated 16- to 50-year-olds, the share of unvaccinated under 16 years who tested Covid positive decreased by half.
• Formulate a roadmap for the safe reopening of schools — for example; a hybrid model could create or restore connections between teachers and students and improve the efficacy of virtual classes. 
• Coursework may need to be rescheduled to compensate for learning loss
• It will involve considerable effort and cost, and it may entail start-stop openings and closures.