Learning gap among pre-primary kids is a matter of concern: Education experts

With playways and kindergartens closed for the last two years since the pandemic outbreak, the increasing learning gap among kids below the age of 5 have left parents and education experts worried. Experts have stated that the gap may not be possible to cover if immediate corrective steps are not taken.

The state government has allowed reopening of schools for Classes 10 to 12 from February and other primary and secondary classes have also remained open sporadically in the past two years. But, classes for pre-primary students have been exclusively held online.

Thomas Antony, national coordinator of National Independent School Alliance (NISA), who was one of the researchers in the national-level survey on learning loss in school education during the pandemic, said that there has been a huge loss, which might not be visible now, but will be evident when students are in secondary or senior secondary classes.

Aditi Walia, who has been running a play school in Cantonment for the last 28 years, said that some major skills like writing can only be taught at schools and not at homes. “The kids who were three-years-old or below at the time the pandemic hit are now five-year-old and I’ve met parents who are worried that their ward can’t even hold a pencil. Parents of students who should be in Class 1 or 2 are now seeking options to admit their child in nursery,” Walia said.

As per a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Private Schools Welfare Association, in which 17,061 parents from Ambala and nearby areas participated, 69.8% respondents are of the opinion that the younger generation is moving towards illiteracy and 30.2% of them think the other way. Of them, 87.8% are demanding a complete reopening of schools from playway to Class 12.

Citing an opinion by a researcher of the education wing of the World Bank, NISA national president Kulbhushan Sharma said that there is no relation between reopening of schools and rising cases of Covid, and it is high time that schools for all classes should reopen.