It took only a few months after the closure of schools in March 2020 to see the extent to which this country’s education system was overwhelmed and unequipped to respond to the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
Efforts to get online learning platforms up and running exposed stark inequities in the system because in many homes, particularly low-income and rural families, students lacked access to the internet, devices, and a proper place to study. The Education Ministry’s efforts, in partnership with various private sector entities, to supply the equipment needed to disadvantaged students did not fully close the gap.
That leads to the biggest challenge in education as students gradually get back into physical classrooms---the significant learning loss for students, both academically and in their social-emotional progress, during those long months of online learning.
The national conversation about COVID-19 safety in the classroom must now give way to a more important discussion about how to make up for significant setbacks in achievement which have further widened the gap between academically struggling and high-performing students.
The problem of learning loss is not unique to T&T. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States reported that virtual learning “might present more risks than in-person instruction related to child and parental mental and emotional health and some health-supporting behaviours.”
Also, a study by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company identified dire consequences from prolonged periods of remote learning, including rising rates of depression and anxiety
According to that study, teachers from eight different countries who were interviewed described remote learning as a poor substitute for being back in the classroom.
Of particular concern was that students who had the fewest academic opportunities pre-pandemic were likely to suffer the greatest learning loss. COVID-19 has exacerbated educational inequalities.
Local educators have encountered the phenomenon of ‘forgetting’ by students, a regression in their curricular learning. There are reports of students losing foundational abilities such as reading with understanding and performing addition and multiplication.
The extent of learning loss across our primary and secondary schools can only be determined if an assessment is done of the learning levels of children. Once it is serious enough to warrant action, the Education Ministry and its stakeholders must develop strategies to deal with this loss to ensure early interventions now that children are returning to physical classrooms.
No effort must be spared in implementing programmes to help students to meet their full potential. There should be a special focus on those who have fallen through the huge gaps in the education system.
Since there may be a need for a hybrid system as schools advance into a new normal in learning, some resources will have to be deployed to make the online experience more conducive to learning.
Through the Education Ministry’s Student Support Services, there could be a greater investment in mental health support, motivational coaching, skills training, and other structures that could lead to an improved educational experience.
To make up for the loss, measures such as extending the school day and allowing students to repeat a school year might have to be introduced.
It may take months, even years, to fully assess the impact of pandemic lockdowns on the education system but action to mitigate losses in learning must begin now. There is no time to waste.