EDUCATION + SOCIETY
Time Crisis In Education
It’s time you know how bad it is when schools closed during the pandemic and the kids lost interest in learning
I recently sat in a meeting alongside two early childhood specialists and a professor of education to discuss how to reduce learning loss post-pandemic at a national level.
Turns out that while the media and local ministries were busy harping on lack of devices and poor internet connection being key issues during lockdown, school children aged between seven to eighteen had suffered up to thirty percent learning loss. They’ve also suffered from burnout and demotivation. The learning curve has dipped and that’s where we are.
The spectrum of learning loss can cast a wide net but a good place to start is by assessing two key areas: language and math. A reason why language and math are the best place to start is because they’re easier to measure with tried and tested tools like exams. These areas are affected by physiological and psychological factors. These are harder to measure, but they speak volume in understanding the depth of learning loss as a phenomena. This includes reading and writing not at their age level, falling behind on arithmetic, speech problems including poor pronunciation, learning challenges such as dyslexia, hearing and vision impairment such as myopia. It may come as a surprise to many but poor nutrition, in many cases malnutrition (and parasites), and vision impairment are more common than we think in the modern world. They’re actually the main contributors to learning loss pre-pandemic.
Malaysia, my current base, topped the record for the most number of weeks shutting down schools due to COVID19–41 weeks. That’s a mortifying figure, an irreversible failure on governance. The World Bank estimates that Malaysia’s learning poverty is already the highest in Southeast Asia, and will worsen without bold and swift actions taken. However, regardless of geography, the moment a child is made to stay home and not attend school (home-schooling aside), she becomes part of the statistics.
I sat studying the numbers and they were disturbing. When I look at the estimates ten years ahead, it’s terrifying. This palpitation cuts across the board around the world as children of all ages have been affected by the pandemic lockdown.
In Malaysia, up to forty percent of school children could not participate in online classes — the only form of learning during lockdown. The figures are worse in the rural areas. This is mainly due to shortage of devices and internet coverage. We’ve infrastructure for 5G yet many places struggle with 4G.
Screen addiction is a new concern. It’s the new mental health crisis. The child suffers from reduced attention span, agitation, and a loss of interest in school-related activities. Stats from the Ministry of Education shows a high percentage of children dropping out of school. A recent major entrance examination which acts as a launchpad for students into higher learning institutions and entry-level jobs, saw up to 20,000 students not turning up for the exams. This is unprecedented.
It gets more disheartening. Education outcomes are worse for children with disabilities, living in poverty, and those who are stateless (undocumented). The problem exacerbates when the children are refugees. There are no safety nets, support and resources are scarce and stymied with legal implications that impinge access.
From the forty-one weeks of being at home, the children suffered enormously from the loss of social interaction. The uptick of mental health problems, namely depression and the feelings of disassociation and alienation, have boiled down to a new crisis in education. I have not even touched on those who are further affected by domestic violence and gender equality violence. I personally suffer for weeks when combing through those data.
The COVID-19 virus may have led us down innovative paths to new vaccines and boosters for temporary measures, but the havoc it wreaked on children is another race against time. Ignored, they become permanent damage.
There is no dependency on pharmaceutical companies for this crisis. However, it requires the entire community from parents, guardians to civil society organizations to play a role as teachers too are burnt out. Capacity-building training for educators is currently called for to strengthen their stamina to handle post-pandemic school children. We are looking at a new breed of children.
For educators and learning specialists, the problems we see today means the implications will be greater in years to come. When the stats show up to forty percent of children significantly affected by learning loss in a span of two years, we are looking at social gaps that include: Higher rate of dropouts, less skilled labor force, serious impact on long-term workforce productivity, an economic downturn, increased social problems and social instability such as adolescent crime.
We will have a generation of mentally ill children with poor adaptability skills to manage the world they live in.
According to the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, as of December 2021: “The generation of students now risks losing USD 17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present day value, or about 14 percent of today’s global GDP, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures.”
According to the McKinsey 2021 report, “Lifetime earnings for K-12 students could be reduced by an average of USD 49,000 to USD 61,000.” An additional year of schooling can increase a person’s earnings by 10% and average GDP by 0.37% annually.
Why am I sharing this?
If a child was already struggling with school pre-pandemic, the learning loss would be severe. Each time we think about pausing or discouraging children to continue learning, think of the Butterfly effect — minor action, major repercussion. The same can be said to fix this problem.
To fill in the gaps caused by the pandemic lockdown, we need to inject life saving investments from all levels and directions. The greatest resource begins at home.
We need to be made aware of the realities and ramifications of our actions when we think: the children are doing okay on their own as long as they’re safe. There are times when we need to think and aim for their greatness more than our sense of security. I say this because based on anecdotal reports from teachers, many students continue to be left to their own devices, literally, as parents resume their career and return to office. Latchkey children were a thing in the 90s but today one out of two children is a latchkey child with no structure at home for many hours.
Modern teaching and learning have introduced hybridity. Devices such as personal computers and smartphones are now necessary learning tools. But learning needs are inevitable and require consistency. To incite children to continue wanting to learn is a responsibility parents, guardians, family members need to help with.
At home, if teaching math or history isn’t your thing, that’s perfectly fine. Teach your child a useful skill he can use in the real world. Reduce their screen time as much as possible. It could be anything from carpentry, sewing, cooking, tinkering with machinery, a new sport. Build something with your hands. Or, help increase motivation through singing, dance, an hour of reflection and a gratitude journal which you can do together. It’s about keeping the engine of their brain running.
Encourage communication without using any device. Pick a day to sit down and discuss what worked, what didn’t, and what could be better about their week. Instead of focusing on homework, ask about ideas. The more out-of-this-world, the better. Randomly tell them, “Ask me a question.” Give them a chance to explore your thoughts. You then ask them a question, about anything. Doing this you’re massaging their brain. Think of their brain as a power plant with many reactors. Some of them had shut down during the pandemic. These activities will reignite them.
Active learning is as essential as breathing. It’s a lifelong skill.
We can’t guarantee to stick around, help them today so they can save their future. Their engine needs to keep running.
