IPA Newspack
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets

IPA /

IPA Special

IPA Special

Inequality In Access To Learning Has Become Greatest Divider

By Dr. Gyan Pathak

Inequality in access to learning, either physical or online classes, in the last two years of the COVID-19 crisis, which is now entering the third year, has now become the greatest divider of the society. Millions of students worldwide are yet to return in the classrooms while millions others just unable to access online classes, making them even unable to interact with their teachers and their peers, thus running risks of dropping out and permanent learning loss.

The new report by UNICEF titled “Are Children Really Learning?” has found evidence of the number of children dropping out of school and permanent learning losses are poised to increase. The pandemic has hold back some 405 million school children from a full return to the classrooms, and 23 countries of the world are yet to fully reopen schools.

The learning loss estimation included in the report mentions 34 countries including India. It said that 92 per cent of students lost at least one specific language ability, and 82 per cent lost at least one specific mathematical ability in India from the previous pre-pandemic year. On the basis of these early findings and simulations, it is reasonable to assume that prolonged school closures and other disruptions to education system brought on by the pandemic have led to substantial learning loss.

Learning loss is a decline in student knowledge and skills, which occurs when educational progress fails to occur at the same rate it has in previous years. The report has found evidence that younger students are more vulnerable than older ones to learning loss as a result of pandemic because young children are less likely to seek learning on their own because of their less advanced developmental and cognitive abilities. Learning losses, it says, can be very difficult to regain, especially for young children who fall behind, because of challenges to reintegrating them into education systems, especially when these systems don’t pay sufficient attention to those most at risk.

While examining readiness to learn outside the classroom, the report mentions lack of internet connection at home. The fact remains that 1.3 billion children in the world currently lack internet connectivity. The crisis has thus brought some urgency to the need to address the digital divide. The report also warns that even after the pandemic ends and all schools are able to fully reopen, there is likely to be a permanent shift to more digitized and other forms of remote learning. Its solution involves a range of issues from poverty, culture, illiteracy, technological progress and other functional difficulties to be resolved.

With each passing day, the devastating impact of the pandemic on children’s learning becomes more apparent. Widespread school closures and other barriers have amplified and compounded a pre-existing global learning crisis that already threatened the futures of millions of children around the world. As this report shows, even in the pre-pandemic days, the majority of children in countries analysed had not mastered foundational skills in either reading or numeracy by the time they reached Grade 3. Only 30 per cent of these children had foundational reading skills and just 18 per cent had foundational numeracy skills. Even one quarter of Grade 8 students did not have the skills to understand even Grade 2 textbooks.

Now the pandemic has widened disparities and deepened inequity. Children from the poorest households, those involved in child labour, children with disabilities, and other marginalized groups are falling even further beind their peers in their learning.

The report has estimated a loss of 2 trillion hours for school children. The study has also pointed out that 147 million children missed more than half of their in-class instruction over the past two years.

Out-of-school children, ie those children of primary and secondary school-age who are not enrolled in education but different from those whose schools remain partially or fully closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, are some of the most vulnerable and marginalized in society – least likely to read, write or do basic math, the report said. Moreover, they are cut off from the school safety nets – putting them at even greater risk of exploitation and a lifetime of poverty and deprivation.

Although out-of-school children suffer the greatest loss, pre-pandemic data from 32 countries and territories highlighted an already desperately poor level of learning that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19-triggered education crisis.

In the countries analysed, the current pace of learning is so slow that it would take seven years for most schoolchildren to learn foundational reading skills that should have been grasped in two years, and 11 years to learn foundational numeracy skills. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that school children have learned the basics at all, in many cases.

A quarter of eighth graders, who are around 14-years old, did not have foundational reading skills and more than half lacked the numeracy skills expected of seven-year-old in second grade, according to data.

In addition to data on learning loss, the report points to emerging evidence that shows many children did not return to school when their classroom reopened.

When the world fails to educate its children, we all suffers, says UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “We cannot keep failing an entire generation of students. Only urgent action and investment by governments and other partners can stem the tide of learning loss. It is not enough simply to reopen schools. We need a concerted global effort to make education a top priority.”

As the pandemic enters its third year, we can’t afford to go back to ‘normal’. We need a new normal, she said, “getting children into classrooms, assessing where they are in their learning, providing them with the intensive support they need to recover what they’ve missed, and ensuring that teachers have the training and learning resources they need. … The stakes are too high to do anything less.” (IPA Service)

IPA Special

Hardik Patel’s Political Future Still Remains Uncertain After Exit From Congress

May 25, 2022
IPA Special

Modi Government Is Still Making All Efforts To Retain Section 124A

May 25, 2022
IPA Special

Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman’s Heady Days Are Here

May 25, 2022
Politics

Row over Rahul’s meeting with ‘anti-India’ Corbyn

May 25, 2022
Politics

SC asks Jharkhand HC to decide on probe against CM

May 25, 2022
Politics

G-23 leaders in Sonia’s key group to anchor party strategy

May 25, 2022
Politics

Chidambaram’s son alleges witch hunt in new CBI case

May 25, 2022
Business

Quad initiative to monitor Indo-Pacific maritime activities

May 25, 2022
IPA Special

U.S. Sponsored IPEF Is A Counter To Just Not China But To BRICS Also

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

Coming Biennial Elections For 57 Rajya Sabha Seats Significant

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

TRS Supremo K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s Moves On Presidential Poll Make Sense

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

Congress Unit In Uttar Pradesh Starts Implementing Udaipur Decisions

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

Bangladesh Feeling Impact Of Ukraine War On Its Exchange Rate

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

Narendra Modi Is Now Following U.S. President Joe Biden In Most Global Issues

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

Places Of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 Is Binding

May 24, 2022
IPA Special

Never-Ending Plans To Expand NATO In Europe Threaten World Peace

May 24, 2022
Happening Now

Quad a force for good, Modi tells Tokyo summit

May 24, 2022
Happening Now

TN minister challenges Nirmala Sitharaman on fuel tax cuts

May 24, 2022
Happening Now

Crucial parleys ahead of Rajya Sabha, presidential polls

May 24, 2022
Happening Now

Air India asks staff to vacate govt housing colonies

May 24, 2022

An appeal

The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.
Click here to learn more

Share

Reply

  • 0
More on IPA

Hardik Patel’s Political Future Still Remains Uncertain After Exit From Congress

May 25, 2022 3:51 pm | IPA Staff

By Harihar Swarup The Nav Sankalp Shirvir focused on youth. So, it is ironic, that Hardik Patel, who was the Congress’s working president in the...

IPA Special

Modi Government Is Still Making All Efforts To Retain Section 124A

May 25, 2022 3:49 pm | IPA Staff

By Prof G Mohan Gopal The opening gambit of the Union Government in response to a writ petition at the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality...

IPA Special

Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman’s Heady Days Are Here

May 25, 2022 3:46 pm | IPA Staff

By James M Dorsey These are heady days for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. With King Salman home after a week in hospital during...

IPA Special

U.S. Sponsored IPEF Is A Counter To Just Not China But To BRICS Also

May 24, 2022 4:45 pm | IPA Staff

By Nitya Chakraborty The announcement made in Tokyo on Monday by the United States President Joe Biden about the formation of a new economic block...

IPA Special

Hardik Patel’s Political Future Still Remains Uncertain After Exit From Congress

in IPA Special
May 25, 2022   ·  

Modi Government Is Still Making All Efforts To Retain Section 124A

in IPA Special
May 25, 2022   ·  

Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman’s Heady Days Are Here

in IPA Special
May 25, 2022   ·  

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow us on
Up Next: Two-Day Nationwide General Strike A Total Success In Kerala
©2020 -2021 India Press Agency, All Rights Reserved
Newspack by India Press Agency
Posting....
logo
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets