The World Bank is staring at a “global crisis” and has warned that two years of Covid-induced school closures have had a “huge impact” on children. It has shown an increase in anxiety and depression in children. The World Bank has stressed that the global crisis needs an “India solution” as the country has one in five children in the world.
“At the World Bank we are concerned about a global crisis, India is responsible for one out of every five children in the world. Without progress in India the global crisis will not be resolved”, Jaime Saavedra, Global Director, World Bank For education said mint. “The global crisis requires an Indian solution. It is significant on the commitment required from a financial, technological and political point of view,” he said.
The World Bank’s education portfolio in the country is estimated at $2.1 billion.
Saavedra’s warning came on the back of schools reopening after nearly two years of closure due to the pandemic. The World Bank notes that although schools have reopened, there are still school dropouts because many children are supporting their families financially.
“The benefits from school closures here are not clear, but the costs are very (obvious) now. The cost of children is very high. Almost two years of learning loss is a huge impact,” said the global director.
In a joint statement at the March-World Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the learning barriers of COVID could harm a generation. “Less than half of the countries are implementing learning recovery strategies extensively to help children catch up,” the statement said.
Its data showed that a total of 2 trillion hours of in-person schooling have been lost due to school closures since March 2020, leaving more than 4 students in 5 countries behind in their learning.
“We see that children have very little exposure to education; We see increased rates of anxiety and aggression depression in children. The social space for children has long been missing,” Saavedra said.
The pandemic has particularly affected children who are living below the poverty line or with special abilities. The March statement cautioned that children have forgotten to read and write; Unable to recognize some letters. “Without immediate remedial action, this could lead to serious lifelong consequences in terms of health and well-being, future education and employment,” the statement said.
In their report – ‘The State of Global Education Crisis’ – the World Bank, UNICEF and UNESCO outlined the global disruption in education during the Kovid. According to a report seen by Mint, the share of grade three students in government schools in rural Karnataka (India) declined from 24% in 2018 to just 16% in 2020.
Saavedra pointed out that one of the remedial measures needs to be adapted to the teaching methods and prioritizing the curriculum.
“Curriculum change takes time and we don’t have that. India and many others have dense subjects. We need to be practical that we may not be able to cover all the subjects. Let’s not go straight. We need to make learning a priority,” he said.
Bringing in volunteers, putting in extra hours can help maximize the effectiveness of hours at a child’s school.
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