Coviducation

 

I read news somewhere that our courts have dismissed a case against China filed by an advocate who blamed China for Covid and its fallouts in his lawsuit. Courts said it was a frivolous lawsuit bearing no consequence and fined the lawyer. But having acknowledged that the fallout of Covid is enormous the discussions around Covid are inevitable.  Every social media platform is full of debates over Covid origin conspiracy theories, Pro versus Anti Vaccine, Djokovic supporters versus opponents. Every aspect of Covid is under scrutiny. There is 24by7 education about the virus, vaccines, efficacies, testing, treatment, immunity, transmission, mutations available on social media universities. We will soon be graduates on Covid subject.  But one thing has gone rather unnoticed:  Impact of Covid on education itself. Though every household is impacted, the gravity of the situation has not been shared as a concern.

A study by UNICEF, World Bank, and UNESCO, points out that this generation of students now risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value, or about 14 percent of today’s global GDP, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures. The new projection reveals that the impact is more severe than previously thought, and far exceeds the $10 trillion estimates released in 2020. 

In addition, The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery report shows that in low- and middle-income countries, the share of children living in Learning Poverty – already 53 percent before the pandemic – could potentially reach 70 percent given the long school closures and the ineffectiveness of remote learning to ensure full learning continuity during school closures.

The COVID-19 crisis brought education systems across the world to a halt. Now after almost two years schools remain closed for millions of children, and others may never return to school. The loss of learning that many children are experiencing is morally unacceptable. And the potential increase of Learning Poverty might have a devastating impact on future productivity, earnings, and well-being for this generation of children and youth, their families, and the world’s economies as per the World Bank report.

Simulations in this study estimated that the school closures resulted in significant learning losses in math and reading. Analysis shows that in some countries, on average, learning losses are proportional to the length of the closures. However, there was great heterogeneity across countries and by subject, students’ socioeconomic status, gender, and grade level.  The estimated learning losses were greater in math than reading and affected younger learners, students from low-income backgrounds, as well as girls disproportionately. Children from low-income households, children with disabilities, and girls were less likely to access remote learning than their peers. This was often due to lack of accessible technologies and the availability of electricity, connectivity, and devices, as well as discrimination and gender norms. Younger students had less access to remote learning and were more affected by learning loss than older students, especially among pre-school-age children in pivotal learning and development stages. The detrimental impact on learning has disproportionately affected the most marginalized or vulnerable. Initial evidence points to larger losses among girls, as they are quickly losing the protection that schools and learning offer to their well-being and life chances.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools across the world, disrupting education for 1.6 billion students at its peak, and exacerbating the gender divide. There were greater learning losses among girls and an increase in their risk of facing child labor, gender-based violence, early marriage, and pregnancy. To stem the scars on this generation, we must reopen schools and keep them open, target outreach to return learners to school, and accelerate learning recovery as recommended by Report.

The report highlights that, to date, less than 3 percent of governments’ stimulus packages have been allocated to education. Much more funding will be needed for immediate learning recovery. The report also notes that while nearly every country in the world offered remote learning opportunities for students, the quality and reach of such initiatives differed – in most cases, they offered, at best, a rather partial substitute for in-person instruction.  

Reopening schools must remain a top urgent priority globally to stem and reverse learning losses. Countries should put in place Learning Recovery Programs with the objective of assuring that students of this generation attain at least the same competencies as the previous generation. Programs must cover three key lines of action to recover learning: 1) consolidating the curriculum; 2) extending instructional time; and 3) improving the efficiency of learning.

To build more resilient education systems for the long-term, countries should consider investing in the enabling environment to unlock the potential of digital learning opportunities for all students. We should reinforce the role of parents, families, and communities in children’s learning. We should ensure that the teachers have support and access to high-quality professional development opportunities. We should increase the share of education in the national budget allocation of stimulus packages.

But these recommendations will only work if local governments in charge of actual policymaking and implementation focus on this problem and its seriousness. This report only talks about basic education; Countries like India should also focus on the impact on higher education with top universities, institutes, and colleges trying to streamline the onboarding and ensuring the quality of education and testing.  We need to create a qualified workforce to be able to support economic recovery.  We need experts to drive policies at Government level for basic and higher educations.  We cannot have inept politicians /bureaucrats handle issues concerning school openings and remote learning /exams and entrance. We have seen how improper handling of lockdown rules across various cities, states create confusion, chaos with ordinary people suffering and paying costs. Pandemic has already created economic uncertainty and severely impacted on the mental health of students due to the digital divide, lack of support, and overwhelming restrictions. These are enormous challenges for students who are at the center of this crisis. Let our governments help with the resolution of issues impacting education during Covid.