Page 68 - EducationWorld Aug 2020 Flipbuilder

International News

absent. Some are getting married — or being married off.
Snehalaya, an Indian NGO, says its emergency hotline has
been inundated with reports of this since schools closed in
March. Handing a daughter over to a new husband means
one fewer mouth to feed. With schools closed, idle daugh-
ters may strike up a romance or fall prey to sexual assault.
Working parents forced to leave their daughters at home
all day alone would rather marry them off than risk the
shame of premarital sex, says Girish Kulkarni, Snehalaya’s
founder.
The economic damage from children dropping out
of school will be vast. The World Bank estimates that, if
schools remain closed for five months, pupils will forgo
$10 trillion (Rs.750 lakh crore) of future earnings in to-
day’s money. That could rise if Covid-19 is not curbed and
schools stay closed for longer. OECD’s Andreas Schleicher: tuition fees reduction advocate
Some governments have failed even to try to help chil-
dren learn from home. Others have been slow to get going. what will remain?” he asked. The unique value of university
Ghana’s government only launched its distance learning for students was “the conversations that you have, not the
radio programme on June 15, three months after schools courses you take”, he adds.
closed. Reopening schools is hard, too. In June only about High-fee universities in the US and UK are facing a col-
half of poor countries said they had a plan for doing so, lapse in international student numbers, potential mass
according to a survey by the UN and World Bank. Social deferments from domestic students and calls for refunds
distancing is tricky where 50-60 pupils are often packed as they struggle to return to normal social and academic
into a single classroom. In sub-Saharan Africa less than 30 campus life. “From a student perspective, £9,000 (Rs 8.79
schools have hand washing facilities. lakh) is certainly not the value of an online course,” says
Moreover, getting schools up and running will require Schleicher, referring to the annual cost of English univer-
money, which is tight. Just 8 percent of the poorest coun- sities.
tries report that they are recruiting new teachers to help In light of this, he said, it would be “reasonable for gov-
with reopening, compared with almost 40 percent of rich ernments to increase their investment in higher education”
ones, according to the same survey by the UN and World given that the return for taxpayers remains “strong”. How-
Bank. Cash-strapped governments are more worried about ever, he stresses that he isn’t advocating zero fees. “I do
boosting their already overstretched health systems. think that cost sharing will have to change. There’s a strong
case for lower fees and more government contribution.”
GLOBAL Schleicher also warns that because the move online has
IT companies threat removed universities’ key selling point — physical contact
and experience — they were now at risk of being overtaken
NE OF THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL by other players.
voices on higher education policy says tuition fees Following the lockdown, “some of the online learning
Oshould be cut after coronavirus lockdowns removed universities provided is questionable” and “not so convinc-
the key reason students attend university — to meet top ing”, he says. “If the model is the delivery of online content,
academics, mingle with interesting fellow students and to then you will have big IT companies taking charge of the
have a “great experience”. sector,” he warns.
Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at Other than an on-campus experience, universities do
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop- still offer value to students in the form of credentials they
ment (OECD), says that restrictions on physical contact can show to employers, he acknowledges. “But I think that’s
threaten the entire rationale for university education, leav- going to erode anyway — and (it will do so) faster when
ing institutions vulnerable to competition from IT firms employers realise there are alternatives,” Schleicher adds.
that offer better online learning. “If universities stay closed He also expresses surprise at how cautiously universities
down for the next academic year, I think that will raise very are reopening their campuses. “Social distancing is easier
serious questions over the value proposition they offer,” he for universities than a primary school,” he said. “If you open
told Times Higher Education. restaurants and cinemas, but not universities, I can’t see
Students attend prestigious – and expensive – universi- the logic.”
ties to “meet the most amazing professors in the world” and (Excerpted and adapted from The Economist and Times
“brilliant students from all over the world”. “If that gets lost, Higher Education)

68 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2020