When schools around the world moved online due to Covid-19, children in developing countries suffered the most.
Even though digital learning does not produce the same outcomes as in-person education, technology used effectively can close educational gaps and prevent learning loss, according to the World Bank and Unicef.
As the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, classrooms remain fully or partially closed for more than 647mn schoolchildren around the world, the World Bank and Unicef noted recently.
Even where schools have reopened, many students continue to lag behind.
“It is now abundantly and painfully clear that children have learned less during the pandemic,” noted Henrietta Fore, executive director, Unicef and David Malpass, president of the World Bank Group in a joint op-ed.
According to World Bank estimates, pandemic-related school closures could drive up “learning poverty” – the share of 10-year-olds who cannot read a basic text – to around 70% in low- and middle-income countries. This learning loss could cost an entire generation of schoolchildren $17tn in lifetime earnings.
As the Omicron variant takes hold, more governments may be tempted to close schools. Without the online infrastructure in place to support learning, doing so would extend the educational losses and deny children the many other benefits of daily school attendance, like the possibility to connect with classmates and develop social skills for personal growth.
Interactions with teachers and peers are essential to develop the abilities necessary to work collaboratively. Being part of a class promotes a sense of belonging and helps build self-esteem and empathy.
Throughout the pandemic, marginalised children have struggled the most. When classrooms around the world reopened last fall, it became clear that these children had fallen even further behind their peers.
Before the pandemic, gender parity in education was improving. But school closures placed an estimated 10mn more girls at risk of early marriage, which practically guarantees the end of their schooling.
Unless this regression is reversed, learning poverty and the associated human capital loss will hold economies and societies back for decades, the World Bank and Unicef noted.
Children must be given a chance to recover the education they have lost. They need access to well-designed reading materials, digital learning opportunities, and transformed education systems that help prepare them for future challenges. Well-qualified teachers and effective use of technology are fundamental to this process.
Many countries have deployed massive stimulus packages in response to the health crisis. But, as of June 2021, less than 3% of these funds was devoted to the education and training sector. And most of these resources were spent in advanced economies.
For many low-income countries, elevated debt-service payments crowd out essential social spending – including for education. The resulting weakness in investments to support education and training threatens to deepen the disparities in learning outcomes that existed prior to the pandemic.
And while narrowing the education gap will require using resources more efficiently, the bottom line is that more resources are needed.
Investment in education must include funding for educational technology, taking into account what has worked well in different contexts around the world.
Clearly, effective use of modern technology can help close educational gaps and prevent learning loss around the world.
