School closure longest in Bangladesh, learning vacuum alarming: Educationists

All primary schools in Bangladesh will resume in-person classes from 1 March, but in the meantime educational institutions in the country have stayed closed – fully and partially – for some 82 weeks since March 2020, the longest in the world, which has created a significant learning vacuum in the country, according to education experts.

An official notice on the decision will be published soon, said Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, public relations officer at the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. He said the decision to reopen primary schools was made on Thursday night given the declining trend of Covid-19 infections.

Earlier on Thursday, Education Minister Dipu Moni announced that all educational institutions, except primary schools, will be able to resume in-person classes from 22 February for fully vaccinated students.

However, the closure, alongside the lack of initiative by the authorities in crafting a plan to take care of the learning losses and to handle drop-outs, has created quite an alarming situation, said Professor Emeritus of Brac University, Dr Manzoor Ahmed.

According to an estimate by Unesco, in March 2020, governments around the world began implementing measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 by closing schools and moving to distance learning almost overnight.

About 150 countries fully closed their schools, 10 others closed theirs partially, and another 10 countries kept schools open. This began to change in May, with a decline in the number of countries fully closing schools, and an increase in the number of countries with partially or fully open schools.

Six months from the start of school closures in September, a reversal in trends emerged. Around 100 countries opened schools fully, while about 50 countries opened schools partially, and some 25 countries kept their schools fully shut. Bangladesh was one of these 25 countries.

In September 2021, Bangladesh reopened educational institutions partially but they closed fully again in January 2022. Only six countries in the world still have their educational institutions closed and Bangladesh is one of them.

Unesco data till 5 February 2022 reveals the five other countries with the highest school closing rates – Kuwait for 62 weeks, Venezuela 61 weeks, Uganda and the Philippines 60 weeks, Myanmar 59 weeks, and Honduras for 58 weeks.

Neighbouring India kept its educational institutions fully closed for 25 weeks while Pakistan did that for 37 weeks. Among developed countries, the USA, Australia and Sweden never fully closed schools. Even Brazil, which has the highest death rate among South American countries, had only 38 weeks of full school closures.

Justifying the government's stand of keeping schools fully closed for so long, Professor Dr Nazrul Islam, noted virologist and former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said educational institutions remained closed for so long in Bangladesh upon the recommendation of experts, given significant managerial problems in Bangladesh's education sector.

"Following strict health guidelines was essential and mandatory, but Bangladeshi schools were not equipped to do it," he added.

Data looks grim

According to a report published by Unesco and Unicef, education of around 37 million children in Bangladesh and about 800 million children in Asia, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, has been disrupted due to school closures since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

In Bangladesh, the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) showed that two out of three pre-primary to upper secondary students in Bangladesh were not reached through remote education during the pandemic-induced school closures.

Besides the lack of material assets and technology support to access education, other significant obstacles that prevent disadvantaged children, and many girls, from accessing distance learning during these difficult times include a generally poor learning environment, increased pressure to take up domestic household chores, and being forced to work outside the home.

Unless mitigation measures are swiftly implemented, the Asian Development Bank estimates an economic loss of $1.25 trillion for Asia, which is equivalent to 5.4% of the region's 2020 gross domestic product (GDP), according to the report.