Contributed by Yusuf
In Part 1 I looked at the impact of coronavirus on the livelihoods of the urban poor, and in Part 2 at their access to healthcare. In this post I take at look at how it is impacting on the education of the children of poor families.
Limited Education
Schools remain closed physically, so many private schools and their pupils have shifted to online learning platforms (with varying degrees of success). Wealthier families have been able to ensure that their children continue receiving an education. Though government schools have technically also shifted to online learning, the ground-level reality looks different: most urban poor students have no smartphones, and many teachers’ concept of online learning consists of uploading photos of the textbook on whatsapp groups. As numerous studies, such as the Annual Status of Education Report, have shown, a huge proportion of students are well behind the curriculum and have not mastered even basic literacy and numeracy skills. In further widening this learning gap, Covid-19 and the lockdown jeopardise the future of hundreds of millions of young people.
Even beyond education, the closing of schools has had a negative impact on the lives of the poor. Many children who were reliant on the mid-day meal are now missing out. Some young kids have missed vaccinations. Numerous students have started working as child-labourers during this period, earning a pittance to help make the family’s ends meet. Even once school resumes, it remains unclear how many of these children will be able to resume schooling.
Policy suggestions
1. Reopen government schools immediately, with suitable precautions, including, where possible, smaller class size.
2. As schools reopen, offer remedial education classes.
3. In areas that continue to be hard-hit by the virus, consider lending or selling at low cost basic smartphones to students, to enable them to continue their studies.
4. In areas with big child labour issues, consider conditional cash transfers (CCTs) contingent on attendance, to help kids get back into the education system.
Conclusion
Poor children struggle with their educations at the best of times. They and their families rely on schools to meet a range of health needs, like daily meals and vaccinations. Since most don’t have smart phones or internet access, online education doesn’t work for them. Re-engaging them in education will be a major challenge.
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