An estimated 80% of parents of students studying in government schools and 59% from private schools feel that their children’s ability to read and write has declined, stayed the same or unable to assess during the pandemic, according to a survey by the National Coalition for Education Emergency (NCEE).

NCEE, a coalition of education experts and social activists, conducted the survey to measure the impact of the pandemic on school-going children from 512 low-income households in three southern states — Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

Parents were interviewed about their children’s learning attainments during the pandemic. The survey found that low-income parents are fully conscious of the devastating impact that prolonged school closures have had on the learning and socio-emotional development of their children.

Learning loss apart, parents highlighted changed behaviour of children including lack of focus and addiction to mobile phones. “Parents noted the following types of changes: lack of routine and discipline; inability to focus; lack of motivation and interest in education; addiction to mobile phone, games and TV; changes in eating habits; mental stress and loneliness,” the survey stated.

In Karnataka less than 50% percent of parents said they received any communication about the child’s academic performance. In government schools less than two-thirds of students had all textbooks. Parents also reported inability to pay fees in private schools and extra financial cost of online classes whether in government or private schools.

“The opinions about online education are unequivocal: that children learnt virtually nothing. The study also highlights that the period of school closures deepened inequality in the system: those parents who could support their children’s online education felt that their children had made academic progress, even during the pandemic,” said the survey.

The NCEE study has also made several recommendations to get all children back in school and learning post-pandemic. Among them: bring back every child to school, conduct household census, contact all private schools at village/block level and identify children who have dropped out, organise back-to-school campaigns, ask teachers to locate absent or disengaged students and communicate individually with them, and strengthen the state’s child protection services to prevent child trafficking and early marriages.

Also read: Only 20% children received formal education during pandemic: Survey