By Mauricio Claver-Carone*
The pandemic has been devastating for students in Latin America and the Caribbean, where schools have been closed for 231 days on average, longer than any other region in the world.
This unfortunate record presents an opportunity to rethink education. It is taking us out of the inertia that for too many years has prevented major educational reforms from being carried out. Our countries today are implementing new teaching methods, investing in hybrid learning and striving to connect all students to the internet.
This pandemic has also made the voice of families heard, who join the demands for a major educational reform. Educators see this as a unique opportunity to transform schools and reduce inequality between young people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Teachers declare that the time is “now or never” to help the 168 million children who dropped out of school during the pandemic.
Many governments are determined to seize this opportunity and are working with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on innovative reforms, not only to put children back in school, but also to improve the education of future generations.
It is true that each country has specific needs, but our studies show three types of reforms that are priorities to improve access to education and student results.
First, ensure the safe reopening of schools. It does not seem relevant in developed countries, but in Latin America issues as simple as drinking water are fundamental. It is also critical to allow access to vaccines for students and teachers, as well as protocols to identify and isolate those infected. Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay have managed to accelerate the reopening of schools by following all these points.
Second, schools must help the most vulnerable, they can identify those most likely to drop out of school and give them incentives not to do so. A good strategy is to strengthen and expand school feeding programs, as Haiti has done. This is how he has managed to retain and get low-income students back to school. Another strategy is to invest in programs to protect educational trajectories. Ecuador has been making important efforts in this regard by increasing the offer of leveling and pedagogical acceleration to reduce school lag.
Teachers should also assess each student’s level of “learning loss” and offer plans to help them regain basic skills. Models such as Teaching at the Right Level have proven to be effective in remedying losses. The IDB is working with Belize to train teachers in similar methods.
These reforms must include preschool children, since due to the pandemic many of them are not ready to move on to first grade. In Peru, the IDB worked with the Ministry of Education on a math program called MateWasi. It airs on the radio during summer vacation and includes a phone follow-up so parents can reinforce concepts after the broadcasts. Participating children recovered the equivalent of 25% of a year of preschool.
At the secondary level, countries should promote personalized distance tutoring. They have proven to be one of the most cost efficient ways, to compensate for losses. At as little as $100 per person, they can get students back a year’s worth of math classes. The IDB is supporting five countries to carry out pilot programs.
El Salvador and Uruguay are implementing systems to monitor student progress. If they detect serious changes, they send alerts to teachers. The goal is to prevent school dropouts.
Finally, countries should speed up the transition to hybrid learning systems that eliminate inequalities and prepare young people to thrive, compete and innovate in the digital age. To do this –and to overcome connectivity gaps–, governments must forge more ambitious alliances with the private sector. Costa Rica, Argentina, and Jamaica have managed to bring broadband to schools in low-income areas quickly and affordably with so-called “zero rate” policies.
Digitizing education does not mean replacing in-person interaction, but giving it more value, adding personalized learning to increase quality and commitment in the relationship between teachers and students.
There is abundant evidence to show that this strategy works. The Uruguayan Plan Ceibal initiative transformed the education system by giving laptops to children and creating a wide range of new educational services, such as online libraries. Panama is adapting a Colombian literacy recovery program that uses personalized assessments and materials to improve reading and comprehension. Peru has also recently expanded its Conecta Ideas platform, which uses gamification to improve math learning.
Governments can carry out reforms more efficiently by establishing innovative partnerships with the private sector. In El Salvador, for example, the IDB is helping to design development impact bonds, in which investors provide capital for educational programs and are reimbursed based on results achieved.
Students, teachers, and parents are demanding reform like never before, and the IDB is willing to fund it.
Countries just have to seize this opportunity; if they do, the entire region will benefit not only now, but also in the future. (OR)
* President of the Inter-American Development Bank, based in Washington DC and the main source of financing for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
