“Foundational Abilities” of children lost due to closure of schools

What is the News?

Azim Premji University(APU) has released a study titled “loss of learning during COVID Pandemic”.

About the study:

• Focus: The study looked at the impacts of the closure of schools during COVID, on the students. It especially focussed on the students from lower classes.
• Coverage: The study was conducted on primary school children between Classes II and VI in the Government schools. It was done across five States, i.e. Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand.

Key Findings:

• Children not only missed out on the curricular learning of regular schools but are also ‘forgetting’ what they had learned in previous years.
• On average, 92% of students from Classes II to VI have lost at least one specific foundational ability in languages that they may have acquired in previous years. The corresponding figure for mathematics is 82%.

What are Foundational Abilities?

• Foundational abilities are those that form the basis for further learning. Some examples of foundational abilities include reading a paragraph with comprehension, addition, and subtraction.
• According to researchers, a grasp of foundational abilities forms the basis of a student’s further learning in all subjects.

Source: The Hindu