Guidelines on reopening schools focus more on health measures rather than addressing learning difficulties
Schools are reopening in most states after being closed for one and a half years. Most children enrolled in school before the pandemic were likely to have limited or no structured learning opportunities during this period. This reality is even more shocking as the more privileged sections, representing minorities, have been able to ensure continuity of education through online classes provided by schools, family support, and increased spending on tuition and tutoring apps. Were.
leave no child
Despite the major setback to the education system, a review of the State Governments’ Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines on school reopening shows that the emphasis is on health and hygiene measures. There is little discussion of the practical approaches needed to ensure that every child returns to school and to cope with learning difficulties.
Around the world, guidance on reopening schools centers around certain principles. The first is a strong focus on equities. Special efforts should be made for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who were disconnected during the pandemic, to return to school in an environment that fosters belonging. The second is effective and regular communication with parents. The third is to support the socio-emotional development of the student. Fourth, the curriculum is to be restructured to reinforce core academic skills, especially in the early years, with a focus on language learning and mathematics. Fifth is to increase the learning time and where necessary the appointment of additional teachers. The sixth is to increase training and regular support for teachers. And finally, to secure additional funds to address the crisis.
Let us start with the issue of additional funding for education. A recent study by the World Bank and UNESCO shows that, for a sample of 29 high-income, low-middle-income and low-income countries around the world, the average annual education budget not only included The increase occurred after -19, but at a higher rate than before COVID-19 (4% after COVID-19 compared to 1.1% before the pandemic). Of the 14 low-middle-income countries that include India, five countries (Bangladesh, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines and Ukraine) significantly increased their spending. Three countries (Egypt, Pakistan and Tanzania) kept their spending constant or reduced it marginally. Four countries (Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar and Nepal) reduced their spending from 1% to 6%. India reduced its spending with Uzbekistan by more than 9%. This comes on top of a 2% drop in education spending in India in the past year. The share of spending on education in the overall budget also declined to 2.6%, while most countries either maintained or increased this share. It is difficult to envisage how an emergency of scale and depth seen in India could be addressed with less resources.
Even the task of getting every child back to school in India is daunting and requires elaborate planning. First, millions of migrant children saw their education disrupted. Their numbers are not known – how many went back to their home states, how many re-joined schools, or how many returned. Many of these children are now working to support families who have lost their livelihoods. Second, about 40% of school students in India are in private schools. Most of them are in ‘low-cost’ schools for the poor, who are in distress. According to a recent survey (Global School Leaders and Alokit, Report Upcoming), more than 60% of government and private school principals in India said that their school dropouts are suffering and face financial challenges. The Online and Offline Learning (School) survey of school children covering 15 states and union territories, conducted in August 2021, showed that more than 25% of children who were earlier enrolled in private schools had moved to government schools. If this ratio is almost correct for the country, we can expect that around 20 million children will be shifted from private to government schools.
On the academic front, several states have announced shorter ‘bridge courses’, sometimes even for 45 days. The goal is to resume the textbook-based curriculum of the child’s current grade as quickly as possible. The exam timetable is being prepared, as if nothing has happened. These unrealistic expectations are being framed in the face of overwhelming evidence of the devastating learning losses suffered by children, especially disadvantaged groups (see, for example, the National Coalition’s research brief on the Education Emergency). School surveys showed that 42% of students in grades 3-5 in villages and urban settlements could read only a few letters. Only 55% of the students in classes 6-8 could read a simple conversational sentence fluently. All will lack the required knowledge of the academic language in upper primary/lower secondary grades.
Learning a language, especially reading with comprehension, is important to ensure progress in all subjects. While children are struggling to study in their mother tongue, in many states, most children are studying in both government and private English-medium schools. Learning another language is difficult under the best of circumstances. In most English medium schools, teachers are not proficient in English and students have no home language experience. Research from the US during the early stages of the pandemic showed that a proportion of ‘English language learners’ (ie, those with limited proficiency in English) received ‘failed grades’ within months of school closure and despite provision The ratio to do has increased dramatically. Structured online learning. Imagine the condition of millions of children in India who for months did not know English – their language of instruction – with limited or no knowledge at all.
Loss in math skills can be even faster. Studies in other countries suggest that learning impairments (in the native language) are more severe in math than reading (in the native language) over about two months of summer vacation. In such a short period of time, losses may include forgetting about mathematical procedures rather than general concepts. But a much deeper loss in conceptual understanding can be expected after the loss of structured instruction over an 18-month period.
support for teachers
Guidance and support for teachers and schools, especially in early education, will focus on language learning, core mathematical ability and socio-emotional learning. Teaching should not be driven by the sequence of chapters in the textbooks or the topics in the curriculum. It will be necessary to restructure the ‘daily timetable’ to focus on these areas and provide additional learning time. Support to teachers should be practical and regular, adopting a ‘coaching’ model instead of group teacher training programmes. This support should include additional learning materials and formative assessment tools and techniques. It may also be necessary to mobilize retired teachers and volunteers. It requires long-term commitment, resources and organizational effort.
Sajita Bashir, former advisor and manager of the World Bank’s global education practice, is part of the National Coalition on the Education Emergency info@educationemergency.net
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