75% KIDS SEE LITERACY LOSS AS SCHOOLS REMAIN SHUT: SURVEY

Most parents want physical classrooms to reopen

With most schools shut for the past year and a half, 75 per cent parents feel their child’s reading ability has massively declined and almost all of them want physical classrooms to immediately reopen, shows a recent survey.

Because of limited access to online classes, almost 48 per cent of the surveyed poor children in rural areas weren’t able to read more than a few words, while in urban areas, the figure was at 42 per cent.

Called School Children’s Online and Offline Learning, or SCHOOL, the survey was conducted in August in 15 states and UTS. It focused on relatively deprived hamlets and ‘bastis’ (slums), where children generally attend government schools. Four states — Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — accounted for half of the sample. Since September 1, more than 15 states have resumed offline classes for students in a limited way and in batches. However, there has been constant pressure from parents to close schools over fears of a third Covid wave.

“The scary news about children being most vulnerable in a third wave has been debunked repeatedly by Dr Guleria (of AIIMS) and others. India is among a handful of countries where primary schools have not reopened. An allout reopening might not be advisable for now, but asking children to attend schools in batches once or twice a week would be a good start,” said economist Jean Dreze, one of the coordinators of the survey.

Limited reach of online Classes

The survey found that the reach of online education is limited as the proportion of children who were studying online “regularly” was just 24 per cent in urban areas and 8 per cent in rural areas.

“One reason for this is that many sample households (about half in rural areas) have no smartphone. But that is just the first hurdle: even among households with a smartphone, the proportion of children who are studying online regularly is just 31 per cent in urban areas and 15 per cent in rural areas.”

Smartphones are often used by working adults, and may or may not be available to school children, especially the younger siblings (only 9 per cent of all school children had their own smartphone).

In addition, there are other issues of online access such as poor connectivity and lack of money for data.

Another major hurdle, especially in rural areas, is that the school is not sending online material, or if it is, parents are not aware of it.

“Some children, particularly the younger ones, lack understanding of online study in any case, or find it difficult to concentrate,” the survey found. It also found private tuitions (largely in urban areas) and studying at home with or without the help of family members were the main modes of offline study.

It found that almost 26 per cent of the households had switched from private to government schools for lack of funds, while mid-day meals had been discontinued in all sample schools.