The challenge of leveling school learning after two years interrupted by the pandemic

Education risks becoming the biggest divisive factor as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, according to Unicef. The number of students dropping out of school is about to risewhile in 23 countries educational establishments are not yet fully open.

The United Nations Children’s Fund published in March 2022 the report Are children really learning?, which presents data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures on children, and provides an analysis of the state of children’s learning before the pandemic began. The report also highlights that 147 million boys and girls lost more than half of their face-to-face education in the last two years.

“This growing inequality in access to learning can make education the biggest divisive factor, rather than the best instrument for equality. When the world fails to educate its children, we all suffer the consequences.”, says Catherine Russell, executive director of Unicef.

Neither in person nor by Zoom: those who did not return to school

In addition to the data on learning loss, the report argues that many children did not return to school when classes resumed. In Liberia, 43% of public school students did not return when they reopened in December 2020. In South Africa, the number of children who did not return tripled from 250,000 to 750,000 between March 2020 and July 2021.

In Uganda, around one in ten school-age boys and girls did not return to school in January 2022 after a two-year closure. In Malawi, the dropout rate among secondary school girls increased from 6.4% to 9.5% between 2020 and 2021. In Kenya, a survey of 4,000 adolescents aged 10-19 revealed that 16% of girls and 8% of boys did not return to class when schools reopened. Thirty-two countries and territories were analyzed in this report, the majority in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Boys and girls who do not go to school have less likely to be able to read, write, or do basic math exercises, and they do not have the safety net provided by the school. This exposes them to a greater risk of being exploited and experiencing poverty and deprivation throughout their lives.

The report underlines that, although children who do not go to school are the ones who suffer the worst consequences, data from before the pandemic already revealed an alarmingly low level of learning which has probably gotten worse.

In the countries studied, the current rate of learning is so slow that it would take most school-age children seven years to acquire the basic reading skills they should have learned in two years, and eleven years to acquire the basic arithmetic skills. . A quarter of 14-year-olds did not have basic reading skills, and more than half had not acquired the arithmetic skills expected of 7-year-olds.

Leveling and accelerating learning in Ecuador, is it possible?

In Ecuador, although it is not one of the countries considered in the recent analysis, Unicef ​​promotes the program of Pedagogical Leveling and Acceleration (NAP)implemented through the Development and Self-Management Center (DYA), in coordination with the Ministry of Education.

Through the NAP, 4,364 students between the ages of 8 and 18 have resumed their studies in 18 provinces of Ecuador. They hope to receive support with their problem of falling behind in school, and thus they will not drop out.

Although the children and adolescents of Latin America and the Caribbean have not been considered among the 32 vulnerable countries in the study Are children really learning?However, they are among those most affected by the school closure. In the region, schools have been closed an average of 37 weeks since March 2020, and it is estimated that in the region only 39% of elementary school students can read a simple textaccording to UNICEF calculations from March 2022, based on the UNICEF LACRO Educational Response to COVID-19, the Fundamental Learning Skills Module of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and the Learning Poverty Index of UNESCO and the World Bank.

In Ecuador, according to surveys carried out by the Ministry of Education and Unicef, in households that remained in virtual education, the 70% said they were learning less, according to a October-November 2021 monitoring.

Faced with this situation, the work of NAP teachers is essential. One of them, Richard Mendoza, explains that one of the effects of falling behind in school is that, despite the fact that the student has significant learning, he tends to forget certain things. “It’s like starting over,” he explains.

Mendoza students struggle with reading and math. “They read, but they don’t understand what they are reading; that has happened with almost the majority. We are also addressing their shortcomings in basic operations: addition, subtraction, and multiplication.”

This leveling program condenses three years into one, and the basic subjects are taught in an integrated manner. In the same class, young people can learn more than one skill. For example, while analyzing a logic problem they develop language and math skills.

In addition to academic gaps, teachers must reinforce study habits and social-emotional skills. Going back to the classroom and meeting other young people their age is a challenge. The closure of schools has affected the well-being and mental health of children and adolescents. “They have lost relationship skills. They suffer from panic attacks, anxiety attacks when having to speak in front of their classmates, they fear not having friends and not being accepted in the group”, says María Fernanda Porras, UNICEF Education officer.

“We must prevent children and adolescents from continuing to lose. For this, it is key to evaluate each student, provide them with comprehensive support and ensure that the educational community, especially teachers, have the training and educational resources they need to accompany them not only academically, but also in their mental health.” recommends the specialist. (F)