Process and Risk of Learning Loss

Team Members

Md. Saiful Islam, Research AssociateDr Imran Matin, Executive DirectorAvinno Faruk, Research AssociateAtiya Rahman, Associate Research Fellow

Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman

Mohammad Abdul Wazed, Senior Fellow

Billal Hossain, Sr. Field Research Specialist

Namira Shameem, Research Executive

Kaneta Zillur, Resource Person

Presentation Structure

1. Survey Details

2. Attitude to School Re-opening

3. Learning Loss

4. Digital Inclusion

7. Policy Messages

5. Mental Health

6. Child Labour

Survey period: 21 Aug – 8 Sept 2021

4th Round Sample size: 4872 (80% of 3rd round panel)

The Survey

CHT (1%)

Sample Distribution of Students

Sample Distribution % of HHs Number

Have primary school-going boys 31 1510

Have primary school-going girls 31 1,493

Have secondary school-going boys 23 1112

Have secondary school-going girls 26 1,266

Have at least one school-going child 77 3,742

Attitude About School Re-opening

~75% Said That School/College Should Open Right Now

5 51 2

77

16

3 15 5 2 4

74

19

4 25 5

2 3

75

18

4 1

AfterCOVID is

gone

Aftereveryone isvaccinated

After all theteachers

arevaccinated

After all thestudents

arevaccinated

Right now Wheneverthe

governmentthinks it is

appropriate

No opinion Others

% o

f re

spo

nd

en

ts

Rural Urban-Slum Total

Learning Loss

Children in Learning Loss Risk

Not studying at all

Or only having unsupervised self-study

Are in learning loss risk

Or irregularly studying in current mode of study

Children who are

Trend in Risk of Learning LossMarch to August 2021

19

2522

30

Primary Secondary

% o

f st

ud

en

ts

March,2021 August,2021

Trend in Risk of Learning Loss:Gender Disaggregation

20 19

262423

20

34

25

Primary Male Primary Female Secondary Male Secondary Female

% o

f st

ud

en

ts

March, 2021 August,2021

Trend in Risk of Learning Loss of Secondary Male Students by Poverty

Status

2631

25 25 26

32

40

33 33 34

Extreme-poor Moderate poor Vulnerable non-poor

Non-poor Total

% o

f se

con

dar

y m

ale

stu

de

nts


Trend in Risk of Learning Loss, Primary:Rural-Urban Disaggregation

18 19 2118

2219

2420

Male Female Male Female

Rural Urban Slum

% o

f p

rim

ary

stu

den

ts


Trend in Risk of Learning Loss, Secondary:Rural-Urban Disaggregation

21 20

3127

30

24

37

26

Male Female Male Female

Rural Urban Slum

% o

f se

con

dar

y st

ud

en

ts


Risk of Learning Loss of Students and Mother’s Education

34

25

1611 12

43

32

24

15 12

Never went toschool

Primary(Class 1-5) Lower Secondary SSC/Equivalent HSC/Equivalent/Higher

% o

f S

tud

en

ts in

Ris

k o

f L

ea

rnin

g L

oss

Mother's Education

Primary

Secondary

Role of Family Support

31

5

22

25

6

16

Study to themother at home

Study to thefather at home

Study withbrother / sister

/relatives athome


8

3

14

42

8

Study to themother at home

Study to thefather at home

Study withbrother / sister

/relatives athome

Primary Secondary

% o

f st

ud

en

ts

Digital Inclusion for Remote/Off-school

Learning

Remote/ Off-School Learning

Watching TV/Radio Channel Classes

Watching Classes on

Internet

Online Class

Online Coaching/

Private

Non- Interactive Interactive

Assignment

Hybrid

Connection With School During School Closure

24

4 1

4853

6

There was noconnection

Regular onlineclasses

Irregular onlineclasses

Throughmobile phone

Bringhomeworkfrom the

teacher/submitto them for

check

Others

% o

f st

ud

en

ts

Connection With School During School Closure: Primary Students

3

0.3 1 0.521

0.33

0.2

18

Watching TVchannel class

Watchingclasses onInternet

Online class online private Assignment

% o

f p

rim

ary

stu

de

nts


4 3

9

2

8

2 3

11

1

38

Watching TVchannel class

Watchingclasses on the

Internet

Online class online private Assignment

% o

f se

con

dar

y st

ud

ents


Connection With School During School Closure: Secondary Students

Device Availability in the HHs for Study Purpose: ~40% Households Have No

Device 44

0

2931

0 1

20

36

0

29

33

1 1

33

39

0

2932

0 1

27

No device Radio Button phone Smart phone Desktop/computer Laptop/Tab TV

Rural Urban Slum Overall

% o

f H

Hs

% of HHs Have at Least One Device That Can Be Used for Study Purpose

5764 61

Rural Urban Slum Total

% o

f H

Hs

Impact on Mental Health

School/ College Students (10-20 years) Suffered From Mental Stress Since COVID-19, Reported by HHs

1315


% o

f H

Hs

rep

ort

ed

Types of Mental Stress of School/ College Students (10-20 years)

112

13

44

60

36

57 5 716

60

42

9

Does notsleep at

night

Has stoppedeating

Does not talkto anyone

afraid toleave the

house

irritablemood

angry /violent

behavior

Others

March, 2021 (N=456) August,2021 (N=558)

% o

f H

Hs

rep

ort

ed

Impact on Child Labour

School-Going Students Engaged in IGA

% o

f sc

ho

ol-

go

ing

st

ud

en

ts

8.1

3.0

8.7

2.0

Boys Girls

March August

Policy Lessons and Recommendations

Recommendations Supplementary remedial program for learning

loss recovery essential for both primary and secondary levels.

Such remedial programs must be off-school hours.

Primary-level remedial program can be form of publicly-funded Community Learning Centres. Leverage NGO experience non-formal education.

Learning loss most severe for boys at secondary level. Well-designed remedial program on this is a priority to arrest child labour trend.

School-opening necessary but not sufficient to overcome accumulated

learning loss

Policy Lesson

RecommendationsPsycho-social support

New challenge is how to integrate psycho-social support to students to offset mental health problems caused by prolonged school closure.

Civil society should convene an urgent national dialogueto explore various dimensions of the issue and develop recommendations for the government and identify priority actions.

Government should establish a task force on the matter.

Economic support

Expand secondary stipend program to boys. Expand free distribution of education-supporting digital

devices to poorer students.

School-closure experience has had both social and economic impact on children Mental health Child labour

Policy Lesson

Recommendations

Phased action plan to overcome identified gaps and ensure digitally inclusive education

National dialogue of teachers to assess potential of pedagogic innovations during school closure

A positive development during school closure needs innovations, even if limited, in off-school hybrid learning through assignment. However, assignment experience remained largely non-interactive.

Though government recommended use of four remote technological platforms – TV, phone, radio and social media – as far back as May, 2020, these have largely remained non-interactive and have not engaged sufficient student interest.

Policy Lesson

Safwan’s StoryReality Check on Assignment Experience

Safwan’s StoryReality Check on Assignment Experience

Safwan was in Class V in 2020. He had admitted just that year in a Government Boys’ High School in Dhaka. He had a few classes before the closing.

In June 2020, his mother got a mobile message to follow a Facebook link of the school for Safwan’s class lessons. Visiting the link, she saw that there were lesson plans for students of grades six to ten. From then on, Safwan has been doing his “Assignments” as instructed from teachers on Facebook. On Mathematics, he is asked to do some arithmetic, geometry, etc. by the relevant teacher. At the same time, online classes started for 6 days, 40 minutes a day. This has compelled his parents to buy a laptop for him.

During the COVID holidays, Safwan’s mother submitted his assignments every week and she put the papers in a box assigned for each class. Later at the end of the year, Safwan learned that he got auto-promotion to class six.

The interesting part of this “interactive and accessible” lesson-learning is that Safwan and his friends did not receive any feedback from their teachers on their assignments submitted throughout the year.

Documents

Process and Risk of Learning Loss