Locked Out: Emergency Report on School Education

The Covid-19 pandemic and its consequent lockdowns have caused schools in India to be closed for the last year and a half – notes Locked Out: Emergency Report on School Education. Published on September 6, 2021, the report discusses the disastrous effects of prolonged school closures on the education of students from poor households. It presents the findings of the School Children’s Online and Offline Learning (SCHOOL) survey.The survey was conducted in August 2021 by a team of nearly 100 volunteers led by development economists Reetika Khera and Jean Drèze, along with Ranchi-based researchers Nirali Bakhla and Vipul Paikra. It covers 1,362 households with at least one child enrolled at the primary or upper primary level (Classes 1-8). The survey was carried out in 15 states: Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.Around 60 per cent of households resided in rural and 74 per cent in urban areas. Close to 60 per cent belonged to Dalit or Adivasi communities. And 84 per cent of children from rural households were enrolled in government schools.The 32-page report found that only 23 per cent of children in urban areas and eight per cent in rural areas had ‘adequate online access’ during the pandemic. This severely affected their regular schooling...