A survey conducted by UNICEF across six states showed that at least 80% of students aged 14 to 18 learned significantly less at home during the Covid-19 pandemic than attending classes in schools. The survey report released on Thursday also warned that about 8% of children are unlikely to return to schools in the future.
Students learn less from remote education
“Most parents and adolescents feel that students learn less through remote education than through school. 73% of parents of students aged 5 to 13 and 80% of adolescents aged 14 to 18 The U.S. reports that students are learning less or significantly less than in school. 67% of teachers believe that students are lagging. The report says that if schools were open, their overall growth would have been much better.
Schools were closed due to the corona epidemic
Schools across the country were closed for more than a year and a half in view of the dire consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this school, they shifted classes to the virtual platform. In October last year, the Center had allowed state governments to decide on reopening schools keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation. After which, many states had partially resumed physical classes, but in April this year, after the second wave of corona in the country, everything came to a complete halt again. But, now schools have opened in many states.
6,435 respondents took part in the survey
Acceleration of learning during school closures in the context of “Covid-19” in six states, primarily Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, through computer-assisted telephonic interviews between August and September last year a survey titled “Evaluation from” was conducted. It was attended by 6,435 respondents including parents, adolescents, and teachers.
40% of students did not take remote education in the last six months
The report also states that 10% of students cannot access devices such as smartphones, feature phones, television (TV), radio, or laptop/computer. “Even when students have access to devices, the awareness of using them for remote education can below. Of the respondents who did not use any remote learning opportunities, 45% reported not being aware of any resources. From which the report said that 40% of the students in the six surveyed states did not use any form of remote education in the last six months.
8% of teachers do not have a personal smartphone or laptop
The survey also reveals that 8% of teachers do not have a personal smartphone or laptop and 33% of teachers said that they do not see any benefit from remote education. Highlighting the ‘digital gender divide’, the survey said that the use of platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube among girls was 8% less than that of boys. Similarly, the use of these mediums among government school students was 10% less than that of private school students.
30-40% of students not in touch with their teachers
According to the survey, about 30-40% of the students were not in touch with their teachers. The report states that “42% of the students in the age group of 5-13 years and 29% of the students in the age group of 14-18 are not in touch with their teachers. Students from urban areas are more in touch with their teachers than students from rural areas.
UNICEF made several recommendations to prevent loss of learning
Let us tell you that UNICEF has recommended several intermediates, short and long measures to prevent loss of learning. Suggestions include distribution of textbooks and print study material, consistent teacher-student participation using open spaces, subsidies on data and device costs for teachers, re-enrollment drives to prevent students from drop out, reopening Promotion of guidelines, etc.
Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, the representative of UNICEF India, said, “Prolonged school closures due to COVID-19 have left many children missing out on learning, social interactions, and playtime that are essential for their overall development and well-being. We have examples of states like Bihar, where many devices are being procured to aid learning for students. Now is the time to plan to motivate children back to learning and put in place the structure that needs to come back better and stronger.”
