Resources

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to students' learning around the world. In India, it has left over 286 million students from pre-primary to upper secondary  school out of school since March 2020. As most schools continue to remain closed, students, parents and educators are becoming increasingly concerned. Evidence from past prolonged school closures shows that such disruptions can set generations of children back for life. For instance, the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan led to an average  14  weeks of school closures resulting in affected children being put behind in their learning by approximately, about 1.5 to 2 years compared to their peers in other areas. Losses during closures are likely to snowball after children return to school if lessons and curriculum do not match their learning level.

Despite government, private and civil society actors coming together to roll out a wide range of remote learning resources, students are falling behind during the physical closure of schools since March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 60 per cent of students have used any remote learning resources; and even among those, nearly 80 per cent report that they are learning less or significantly less than in school.

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived impact on student learning due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ways to better support student learning now and once the schools re-open. The study strives to identify the needs of parents, students and teachers for continued learning, current barriers to access along with effectiveness of solutions, and successful innovations across states and various other actors. This study attempts to take a holistic lens by including the voices of the marginalized populations, such as migrants and students with disabilities, while highlighting best practices for states to leverage both during the lockdown, and over the long term.