{"id":132493,"date":"2021-09-08T19:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T13:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=132493"},"modified":"2021-09-16T17:31:05","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T12:01:05","slug":"long-term-impacts-of-school-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/long-term-impacts-of-school-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Long term Impacts of School Closure – Explained, pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
For\u00a07PM Editorial<\/strong>\u00a0Archives click\u00a0HERE\u00a0<\/a>\u2192<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Recently, a Survey named School Children\u2019s Online and Offline Learning(SCHOOL) was conducted to understand the impact of the prolonged closure of schools due to the pandemic. The survey mentioned that the prolonged School closure at primary and upper primary levels <\/strong>since the onset of the pandemic has led to \u201ccatastrophic consequences\u201d<\/strong> for school students, particularly in rural India. This questions the effectiveness of online education.<\/p>\n

The Oxford Stringency Index<\/a>\u2019s<\/strong> school closure indicator shows that India closed the schools for 404 days between March 5, 2020, and July 20, 2021. The index term India’s<\/strong> this response as the most severe policy response<\/strong> (requiring the closure of all types of educational institutions).<\/p>\n

During this time, about 265 million schoolchildren<\/strong> have been taught exclusively through so-called \u201cremote learning<\/strong>\u201d, the largest number in any country for the longest period of time<\/strong>. But the findings of the SCHOOL survey and other surveys highlight the impacts of School closure.<\/p>\n

What are the key findings of the SCHOOL Survey on School Closure?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The report covered 1,362 sample households spread across 15 States.<\/p>\n

Students Studying Online:<\/b> Around 37% of the sample students<\/strong> in rural areas were not studying at all<\/strong>. On the other hand, schoolchildren studying\u00a0online \u201cregularly\u201d<\/strong> was just 24% and 8% in urban and rural areas<\/strong> respectively.<\/p>\n

The study also mentioned that a student<\/strong> who was in Grade 3 before Covid-19 is now in Grade 5, and will soon enter middle school<\/strong>, but with the reading abilities of a Grade 1 pupil<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Reasons for Limited reach of online classes:\u00a0<\/b>Many sample households (about half in rural areas) have no smartphone<\/strong>. But even among households with a smartphone, the proportion of children who are studying online regularly is just 31% in urban areas and 15% in rural areas.<\/p>\n

Impact of Limited Access to Online Classes:<\/b> Due to limited access to online classes, 48% of the surveyed poor children in rural areas weren\u2019t able to read more than a few words while in urban areas, the figure was at 42%.<\/p>\n

Shift from Private to Government Schools<\/b>: Around 26% of the households had switched from private to government schools for lack of funds, while mid-day meals had been discontinued in all sample schools.<\/p>\n

Marginalised communities were the worst affected.\u00a0<\/b>For instance, only 4% of rural scheduled caste and tribe children were studying online regularly compared with 15% among other rural children.<\/p>\n

\"SCHOOL
Source: The Hindu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Relation between the teachers and students<\/strong>: With 51% of the respondents in the urban areas and 58% in rural India saying that they had not met teachers<\/strong> during the month preceding the survey.<\/p>\n

Impact on nutritional health<\/strong>: The closure of schools also affected the level of nutrition among the children where the midday meals<\/a> have been stopped.<\/p>\n

Parents on Online Education:<\/b>\u00a0 Around 75% of parents feel their child\u2019s reading ability has massively declined and almost 97% of them want physical classrooms to open immediately.<\/p>\n

Increase in Child labour<\/strong>: Child labour is unusual among very young children<\/strong>. But among girls aged 10 to 14, a \u201clarge majority<\/strong>\u201d are now doing some housework<\/strong> and, in villages, 8% of them had done paid work<\/strong> in the preceding three months<\/p>\n

To repair the damage<\/strong>: The survey also mentions that it will take years of patient work to repair<\/strong> this damage. The survey also mentioned that leaving these issues unaddressed<\/strong> will create everlasting damage to India’s demographic dividend<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more<\/strong>:\u00a0Why do we need to reopen schools?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Findings of various studies about the impact School Closure<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Firstly, <\/strong>A study in the Netherlands has found that most\u00a0learning losses occurred \u201camong students from disadvantaged homes<\/strong>\u201d.\u00a0Researchers have also termed this as\u00a0nutrition loss and learning loss<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Secondly, <\/strong>a large multi-State\u00a0study in the United States<\/strong>\u00a0records that the\u00a0pandemic \u201chas also prompted some students to leave the public school system<\/strong>\u00a0altogether\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thirdly, <\/strong>according to a study by the Azim Premji Foundation<\/a>\u00a0in India,\u00a092% of children on average have lost at least one specific language ability<\/strong>\u00a0from the previous year across all classes; the figure is\u00a082% when it comes to mathematical ability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Fourthly<\/strong>, the UNESCO data<\/strong> has mentioned that school closure has resulted in the following impacts.<\/p>\n

Increased exposure to violence and exploitation: <\/strong>When schools shut down, early marriages increase, more children are recruited into militias, sexual exploitation of girls and young women rises, teenage pregnancies become more common, and child labour grows.<\/p>\n

Social isolation<\/strong>: Schools are hubs of social activity and human interaction. When schools close, many children and youth miss out on social contact that is essential to learning and development.<\/p>\n

Fifthly, the <\/strong>World Bank<\/strong> blog mentions that there are no estimates of the benefits of school closures<\/strong>. In contrast, the cost of keeping schools closed<\/strong> in terms of children’s learning, mental health, and socio-emotional development is exorbitant.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The World Bank’s simulations at the end of 2020 showed that the Learning Poverty indicator<\/strong> (the percentage of ten-year-olds who cannot read and understand a simple text) would likely increase from 53 percent before the pandemic to 63 percent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more:\u00a0E-classes leading to learning gaps in higher education: Survey<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Suggestions to reopen the schools<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The World Bank blog mentions that school closures did not help enough in reducing the spread of the Pandemic. This is because the epidemiological surveys and household-level analysis indicates that children transmit the virus less efficiently than adults.<\/p>\n

This is reflected in the Indian Council of Medical Research<\/a>\u2019s (ICMR)<\/strong>\u00a0Fourth National Sero-Prevalence Survey<\/a> also. As the survey mentioned that, more than half of the children (6 -17 years) were seropositive. So, reopening the school is essential, but the government has to follow few important steps. For instance,<\/p>\n

Follow the ICMR recommendations<\/strong>: \u00a0The ICMR also recommended the following.<\/p>\n