UNICEF: Low connectivity, device affordability disrupt learning amid COVID in South Asia

Due to repeated COVID-related lockdown, South Asian schools have suffered major learning disruptions and inequity in the distribution of knowledge, according to research conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The interruptions caused by the Covid-19 curfews have hindered the academics of over 400 million children in India, Pakistan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. The study reported that the children learned "significantly less" than the pre-pandemic levels. 

With the world grappling with Covid-19, most educational institutions had shifted to remote learning. However, with the lack of infrastructure in the South Asian nations, education has faced a significant setback among children aged 14-18 years. Approximately 80% of the children learned at alarmingly low rates since the shift to online classes in India. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, 69% of parents mentioned that their children learned "less." The impact was greater for households with disadvantages like the absence of internet connectivity and a smooth electricity supply.

"School closures in South Asia have most hundreds of millions of children and their teachers to transition to remote learning in a region with low connectivity and device affordability," said George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia.

Major reasons behind learning setback

Stating the reasons behind the major blow to the learning process, George said that "low connectivity and access to digital devices have severely hampered efforts to roll out remote learning." As per the statistics displayed in the UNICEF study, about 42% of Indian children between 6-13 years reported "not using" any type of remote learning facilities during the lockdown. This indicated the unavailability of resources to access online education. About 23% from Pakistan reported an inability to access devices to support remote learning.

"Water and disadvantage households have been the worst hit, with many families struggling to afford even a single device," UNICEF said in a statement.

Reopening of schools is of utmost importance: UNICEF

Following the low rates of teacher-student contact, UNICEF South Asian Regional Director said that "safe reopening of schools must be considered an utmost priority for all governments." Highlighting the necessity of teacher-student engagement in learning, he added, "investing in teachers will ensure the teachers and school can adapt to all situations the more teachers are trained, equipped and supported on distance and blended learning, the better they will be able to reach all students." The comments from the director came after the UNICEF study recorded 8% teacher-student engagement in Sri Lankan public schools.

In its public statement, UNICEF also highlighted a list of rules that the governments must undertake to ensure "learning recovery." The organisation urged the governments of the said counties to ascertain "quality remote learning," and equip and train teachers to reach out to children with no access to technology. The statement also appealed to parents and caregivers to focus on providing adequate guidance to "continue home-based learning."

With inputs from ANI

Image: PTI (representative)