• Education of 4.2 million students disrupted due to varying access to distant learning: UNICEF
• Govt. alternative education model during COVID has failed: CTU
• Only 35% of students had access to online learning: CTU
• High risk of reduction in school attendance: SLGTA
• Student nutrition a matter of concern
• UNICEF recommends systematically tracking absenteeism

By Maneesha Dullewe Covid-19-induced school closures have significantly obstructed access to, participation in, and quality of learning in Sri Lanka. The associated consequences of continuous school closures, such as learning loss and heightened risk of drop out of structured education, affect countless children.   The varying degrees of access to distance learning facilities and infrastructure such as laptops, mobile phones, and TV have also exacerbated educational inequities, with the structured in-school education of approximately 4.2 million students being disrupted, according to the report ‘Situation Analysis on the Effects and Responses to Covid-19 on the Education Sector in Asia’ released by UNICEF. The report further identifies key vulnerable groups affected by the impact of Covid-19 on the education sector as disabled children; those at risk of child labour; those who cannot access remote learning; children on estate farms; children from female-headed households; and children in urban settlements. According to UNICEF data, in Sri Lanka, 69% of parents of primary school children reported that their children were learning ‘less’. Learning losses  Accordingly, education stakeholders shared that the impact of the disruption of education services on children, particularly in the more vulnerable demographics, has created learning losses that are difficult to overcome without structural support from State authorities.  For instance, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) shared with The Sunday Morning that the Government had failed to use alternative educational measures in the face of the Covid pandemic to ensure education continuity.   “It was the teachers who carried on the education of children. Online education was not provided to at least 35%, while others did not receive any education. The Government did not provide any alternative educational programmes, which led to children’s education completely collapsing during this period,” noted CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin.   “Sri Lanka is one of the countries where schools were closed for the longest time. We know that the Education Ministry has no programme to remedy this shortcoming either. Nor will it reduce syllabus that’s set for examinations – by setting the full syllabus for examinations, the children who don’t have the means will not be able to sit for the examination,” he said, describing the lack of safety nets in place for the disadvantaged to withstand disruptions to their learning continuity.   “We will definitely see an increase in dropouts. As teachers we are doing our best to ensure that children stay in school, but there are serious issues – such as the textbook shortage. Moreover, schools are collecting funds themselves in order to function. When issues such as economic pressure and so on become unbearable, dropouts will increase. For instance, the school meal programme has now lost both quality and quantity, which will also contribute to children dropping out.” Significant setback Sri Lanka Government Teachers’ Association (SLGTA) General Secretary Shehan Dissanayake also stated that there had been a significant setback in education, noting: “For at least two years we have been unable to assess the educational levels of children, especially in the lower grades (1-10).”    He emphasised that the recent term end examinations had revealed marked learning losses in children stemming from the pandemic, as evidenced through examination results. However, he noted that there were no significant numbers of dropouts reported from the lower grades.  Regardless, he noted that the ongoing economic pressures and subsequently increased transport costs had affected the daily attendance of students, as parents have to shoulder exorbitant costs to send their children to school. Households that have multiple children attending school are disadvantaged as parents are unable to send all children to school continuously, leading to disruptions in education.  “More than the danger of increased dropouts, there is a drop in school attendance. We are asking the Government to intervene to address this issue,” he said. System on shaky ground Noting that the combined pressures of Covid and the rising costs of living would lead to a massive collapse of the education system, he noted that there had been no indication that the authorities were taking any measures to address this issue.    “While it is difficult to assess the exact dropout rates, we can say that the numbers reported daily are on the rise. The dropout rates will definitely increase with the economic crisis, especially male students over grade 9, as they are forced to shoulder the family burdens by leaving school to earn money.”   Noting that the response of the authorities to the Covid pandemic in terms of ensuring learning continuity had not been effective, he said that the Education Ministry had merely engaged in arbitrary school closures instead of taking into account the recommendations submitted by educationists.  Moreover, the Ministry’s lack of proper Covid response measures has led to the collapse of school education, with a lack of attention paid to the necessary infrastructure needed to continue online education. “Under these circumstances, authorities must pay attention to potential dropouts, since the economic crisis has created mental pressure on children, with their families’ economic situation affecting them, which leads to lowered interest in attending school. Accordingly, the Government needs to enact a systemic programme to mitigate the economic hardships faced by children.”  Focus on nutrition Meanwhile, Educationist and Education Forum Sri Lanka Co-Founder Dr. Sujata Gamage stressed that while they did not have statistics on the dropout rates of schoolchildren at present, with the two years of online education, children were proceeding to the next level of their education without the preparation needed in terms of learning outcomes.   Moreover, she opined that learning losses and dropout rates of the Covid period would also see an uptick in the context of the present economic crisis.   Addressing what’s needed to deliver equitable learning support to children and address the wellbeing of schoolchildren under the present circumstances, she said: “The first thing we need to focus on is nutrition; we need to first do a baseline survey of the nutrition level of children and ensure that children’s schools are actually a place where they address nutrition needs, as children are coming to school without eating. “School attendance committees should be reactivated to keep tabs on all children, focusing on things like nutrition and essential learning outcomes, as well as their social and emotional learning. We have to identify the basics and make sure the children don’t fall through the cracks.”  UNICEF recommends that Sri Lanka systematically track absenteeism as a way to detect and prevent dropout in a standardised way across all public schools in the country, which would have a positive impact on completion. Ministry falls short Dr. Gamage too remained critical of Sri Lanka’s measures to adapt to Covid and online learning and subsequently prevent learning loss: “Teachers, schools, and principals did their best, but the Ministry did nothing, it simply issued blanket directives. They came up with an emergency abbreviated curriculum only in the second year – September 2021. “We did not have an education recovery programme for Covid, nor do we have one now. To deal with the economic crisis, the authorities should identify the essential learning outcomes and nutrition needs and come to an agreement with schools to take necessary steps.” Meanwhile, attempts by The Sunday Morning to contact Education Ministry Secretary Professor Kapila Perera on multiple occasions proved futile.