New Delhi: At least 43 percent of students in India did not have access to any online education for 19 months after school closures, shows a study mapping “out-of-school children (OOSCs)” during the Covid-19 pandemic. Is.
report good The title ‘Clearing the Air: A Synthesized Mapping of Out of School Children during Covid-19 in India (April 2020-May 2022)’ was released by New Delhi-based think tank Vidhi Center for Legal Policy on 1. november,
The report is compiled using 21 primary study sources, including Unified District Information System of Education (UDISE) and Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) data, taking into account other studies published between April 2020 and May 2022.
Studies reporting on the number of “children who received no online education (from the start of school closure to the time of the survey)” ranged from 10 percent to 60 percent.
“While there is some evidence of increased smartphone penetration during the pandemic, in the worst case scenario, 43 percent of children had no access to any schooling by 19 months (due to inaccessibility of digital modes of education or being enrolled in a school). not offering digital education),” said think tank website,
The report said that pre-school closures related to the pandemic were the most affected children.
“We find that children in different socio-economic contexts are severely affected and that educational gaps – in access to educational materials, equipment, the Internet, and other basic resources for continuing schooling – are expected for those with prior disadvantage. were significantly worse, and varied on the basis of gender, age, region and disability,” it added.
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‘Need to build more flexible and friendly school education system’
Elaborating on drop-outs in schools, the report said it ranged from 1.3 per cent to 43.5 per cent during the pandemic period, “depending on duration, geography and/or groups surveyed”.
The report states that “The upper limit (43.5 percent) is significantly higher than the pre-pandemic estimate of the OOSC population nationwide according to ASER Center 2018 data for rural India, or 14.04 percent for secondary school going children as per UDISE 2019-20 “
It further states that the pandemic has led to the emergence of some new areas of concern – “increased incidence of drop-outs among young children; deepening of the challenges faced by migrant children; and There has been an increase in the vulnerability of children enrolled in private schools with fees.”
It added that these areas “require the immediate attention of the authorities”.
“The effects of the pandemic continue to be felt and seen in various forms. Therefore, as we try to get children back to school, it is important to continue to track and redress children’s differing schooling experiences based on their backgrounds.
“For the long term, there is a need to create a more resilient and adaptive schooling system, and in particular a more resilient public schooling system – through better infrastructure, facilities, but greater ability to organize and engage communities with, and the decentralized level – with empowered stakeholders at the grassroots level – has emerged strongly,” it says.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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