A Widening Learning Gap

Context: Children from economically weaker backgrounds have fallen behind as classes shifted to the digital mode as the aftermath of the pandemic.

Problems faced by children from economically weaker backgrounds

• Low learning outcomes.
• Low Parental Education (LPE): unable to provide learning support like in richer households. (helping with homework, sending children to tutors or private schools, and spending more time with children.)
• Disadvantages of remote learning: They lack access to devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones that are needed for remote learning.

Problems associated with Low Parental Education (LPE): According to Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2020 Wave 1) -  denoting the learning deficit among children with LPE.

• Children are less likely to have a smartphone: 45 % of children with LPE have access to smartphone as compared to 79 % of children with High Parental Education(HPE).
  • Low access to learning material as 87 % of children received learning material via messenger apps.
  • 5 % of rural children with LPE attended online classes compared to 20 % of rural children with HPE.
• Children are more likely to be enrolled in government schools:  84 % compared to 54 % for children with more educated parents. 
• Children will receive low learning support at home: 55 % of children with LPE received any learning support at home compared to almost 90 % of children with HPE.
• Low access to learning materials (other than textbooks) during the pandemic: 23 % of children with LPE received any material as compared to 49 % of children with HPE.

Way Forward:

• Utilising families and schools: As parents are more educated than ever before, more than 75% of children have at least one parent with more than primary school education.
  • ASER 2020 shows 75% of children receive some kind of help from a family member in studying.
  • Community can play a larger role: During the school closures, almost 70 % of school respondents reported getting help from community members.