Over 7m school students at risk of learning loss: Dr Zillur
More than
seven million students across the country are at risk of learning loss due to
the Covid pandemic-induced school closure, a new survey has found.
"The
students include 3.96 million of primary level and 3.09 million of secondary
level," PPRC Executive Chairman Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman said while
unveiling a national survey in a virtual press conference on Monday.
The survey
is part of a larger, multi-phase study by Power and Participation Research
Centre (PPRC) and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD): Covid-19
Livelihoods and Recovery Panel Survey.
Fearing
about the dropout of the students, Dr Zillur urged the authorities concerned to
initiate a national dialogue in order to protect them from dropout.
The
research developed an educational module as part of the larger survey — first in March 2021 and
later in August — to examine the changes in the educational life of children.
The phonic
survey in rural areas and urban slums show that at least 22 per cent of primary
and 30 per cent of secondary students are currently at risk of learning loss
due to the shutdown of educational institutions.
From March
to August 2021, there is a worrying upward trend in learning loss risk among
both primary and secondary schoolchildren across income groups and both in
rural areas and urban slums.
The trend
is most pronounced among secondary male students; 26 per cent were at risk of
learning loss in March, which jumped to 34 per cent in August, according to the
survey.
The
PPRC-BIGD survey indicates that socio-economic disparities play a role in the
learning loss crisis.
According
to the findings, the pandemic and subsequent school closures have also
adversely affected the mental health of children and adolescents.
In August
2021, over 15 per cent of households reported that school and college-going
students have been suffering from mental health stress since the beginning of
the pandemic.
Parents
reported that their children were more irritable and angrier and displayed more
violent behaviour during the school closure period (36 per cent in March
compared to 42 per cent in August).
Dr Zillur
stressed that human capital crisis has been as great a concern as the health
and economic crisis of Covid-19.
“School opening alone without an off-hours remedial program cannot
overcome the accumulated learning loss and danger of a drop-out generation,” he said.
BIGD
Executive Director Dr Imran Matin, who also presented the findings at the
webinar, observed the importance of funding innovative and scalable solutions
to address the risks of learning loss and mental health to tackle the
educational emergency.
“The long-term cost of not treating this as an emergency can be
extremely high, off-tracking years of progress and ambition,” he added.