Schoolkids robbed of foundational skills due to closure: Study

The study also said that teachers should be given time to make up for the learning loss and should not rush promoting children to the higher class

The closure of schools had a negative impact on children, as many lost at least one foundational ability from the previous year.

Closure of schools across the nation due to the Covid-19 pandemic has a negative impact on children, as many lost at least one foundational ability from the previous year.

A study by Azim Premji University titled " Loss of Learning during the Pandemic" revealed that 92% and 82% of children on an average have lost at least one specific foundational ability from the previous year, across all classes for language and mathematics.

Report of the study, conducted in January among 16,067 primary school children in 1,137 schools across five states, was released on Wednesday.

The loss of learning level included both regular curricular learning which children would have acquired if the schools had functioned normally, and their ‘forgetting’ abilities learnt in the previous class.

Some of the foundational abilities include reading a paragraph with comprehension, addition, and subtraction. Nearly 2,000 teachers and 400 members of the Azim Premji Foundation assessed the children’s learning levels and compared it with the appropriate foundational abilities of the same class when schools closed in March 2020.

In a press release, Azim Premji University’s Vice-Chancellor Anurag Behar said: “When schools reopen, teachers have to be given time to cover this deficit and be provided with other support.”

He continued: “A carefully synchronised set of measures across states will be required. Including eliminating vacations, extending the academic year well into 2021 and perhaps beyond –depending on when schools open, reconfiguring the syllabus, realigning college sessions, and more.”

The report suggested supplemental support through bridge courses, extended school hours, community-based engagements, and appropriate curricular materials to help students pick up foundational abilities once they return to schools.

It said that teachers should be given time to make up for the learning loss and should not rush promoting children to the higher class.