Reopen educational institutes soon

When all markets, factories, offices and courts are open, educational institutes across the country are yet to open their doors. Finally, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. According to an agency report carried in this newspaper as Covid infection rate continues to fall, health experts have advised the government to immediately take adequate preparations along with a roadmap to reopen the educational institutions gradually.

The Covid-19 pandemic has, according to the United Nations, resulted in the biggest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries in all continents. The closure of schools and other learning spaces have impacted 94 per cent of the world’s student population, up to 99 per cent in low and lower-middle-income countries.

The Asian Development Bank experts looking after South Asia noted that the world's longest continuous closure of school due to the pandemic has been in Bangladesh. They have argued, citing international evidence, that keeping schools closed can only be the last resort and an extreme measure to be applied only for a short time, and that the costs and risks of keeping schools closed nationwide far outweigh those of keeping schools open. The situation in Bangladesh is especially constraining in that in many of the countries, schools have been closed and reopened for certain periods amidst the Covid pandemic, but schools, colleges and universities in Bangladesh have all been closed for about 16 months at a stretch, with announcements of reopening made at times but the institutions having never reopened amidst the Covid outbreak.

With close to 40 million children enrolled in school, Bangladesh is among the countries most affected by the complete shutdown of schools. In an effort to ensure that student education would not be badly disrupted, the government also launched a number of innovative initiatives to minimize the disruption caused by the closure of schools through distant-learning programme carried out via audio and video communication systems. Unfortunately, all students in our country do not have equal opportunities in the field of education. This means that levels of learning, literacy and achievement can be very low in areas of acute poverty. On a related note, reports show that the number of child marriages is increasing during the pandemic.

Multiple studies have shown that there is little or no association between school closures and decreased rates of Covid-19. Students are feeling the effects of social isolation by showing signs of anxiety and depression. And many parents are exhausted as they help their children with virtual learning. Online education has not been a success across the country with the exception of a few schools in the cities. As a result, the risk of seeing more dropouts has seriously increased among many students who go to schools outside cities. The loss from months of closure is not limited to the absence of new lessons only. The learning loss is more than that. A part of our economy revolves around education. Many financially constrained students manage their educational expenses by providing private tutoring. They have lost their income now. On the other hand, their own institutions remain closed, depriving them of education, leaving them facing the risk of perpetual unemployment. Owners have sold many private schools, leaving their teaching staff in destitution.

Remote learning is not a sustainable option for the long run. And for complete education libraries and laboratories are essential. The benefits of physical interaction with teachers and other students is immense.

However pandemic health protocols must be maintained. We agree with the health experts that the educational institutes should gradually start functioning. There is enough evidence to suggest that educational institutes are hardly the drivers of Covid transmission. The authorities concerned cannot wait for cases to totally stop or for all teachers and students to be vaccinated before it reopens educational institutions. The risk of Covid transmission in schools is manageable with appropriate mitigation strategies, such as vaccination, wearing masks and maintaining distance. The pandemic is not going to end anytime soon. And like all other sectors the educational institutes should also open. The sooner the better.