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PANDEMIC THUNDERBOLT ENDANGERS

Pre-primary school children: massive learning loss prospect

It’s safe to presume that the majority of shuttered class- behind in math compared to what we would observe in nor-
rooms are in developing countries of the third world. In mal conditions,” says the study report (https://www.brook-
India while the country’s top 2,500-3,000 private schools ings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/05/27/
ranked in the annual EducationWorld India School Rank- the-impact-of-covid-19-on-student-achievement-and-
ings have smoothly transitioned to online teaching-learn- what-it-may-mean-for-educators/).
ing, in 1.2 million government schools with an aggregate In India, where per-child expenditure in public/gov-
enrolment of 132 million children, desultory education is ernment schools in particular, is a fraction of what’s spent
being provided through non-interactive television and cell in the US, and assorted ills such as multi-grade teaching,
phones. Citing a World Bank report, Vikas Dhoot, cor- chronic teacher absenteeism and rock-bottom learning
respondent of the reputed Chennai-based daily The Hindu outcomes (repeatedly highlighted by the Annual Status of
(October 11), warns that “the extended closure of schools Education Report (ASER) of the Pratham Education Foun-
amid the Covid-19 pandemic could dent India’s future earn- dation) are normative, children’s loss of learning because
ings by anywhere between $420-600 billion (Rs.30-44 lakh of the ill-advised sustained lockdown of schools for fear of
crore), as depleted learning levels of students will translate pandemic contagion, is certain to be several magnitudes
into poorer productivity going forward”. greater.
Earlier, a study (May 2020) conducted by the US-based Unsurprisingly, the damage inflicted upon the Indian
Brookings Institution — the world’s largest and most re- education system by the Covid-19 pandemic has not been
spected think tank — on the probable effects of mass schools credibly assessed, especially for the nascent preschool edu-
closure in the US until fall (October 2020) indicated that cation sector. “More specific to early childhood education,
school students are likely to lose 30 percent of the learning this international health crisis has precipitated unprece-
gains in reading acquired in the previous year. “In math- dented, sweeping, and dramatic changes in the lives of chil-
ematics, students may show even smaller learning gains dren and their families, pre-service and in-service teachers
from the previous year, returning with less than 50 percent of young children, and early childhood teacher educators.
of gains. In lower grades, students may be nearly a full year Worldwide, Covid-19 has also pushed the early childhood

FEBRUARY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 37