Reflections from the Ground on School Reopening

The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges around the globe with lakhs of lives lost, and disruptions of everyday life situations in myriad ways. Children are one of the most affected groups in this pandemic. It is about 75 weeks (more than one and a half years) since March 2020; schools mostly remain closed.

Although lockdowns have been eased in many areas – like reopening of markets, transport system etc. – children are still under lockdown for all practical purposes. We, the adults, have already started redoing our things and coming out of our isolation. Children, whose job it is to play and learn and need to interact with the world, are being restricted in their mobility.

Where digital solutions have been provided for children’s learning, there is a huge disparity with regard to access to smart phones, connectivity, internet packages, electricity etc. The digital divide is real and wide; there is a gender divide with respect to access to smart phones as well. Children with Disabilities (CwDs) also have comparatively less access to such resources. Could calibrated reopening of schools be an alternative?

Ensuring the Rights of Children: A Critical Issue in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised significant challenges against child rights – especially the rights to survival, protection and development. We found that many children are engaged in work as child labor – e.g., beedi making at domestic level and in wage earning labour work outside home, such as working at construction sites, agricultural fields, bringing sand and stones through tractors and trolleys etc. – that pose risks for their lives.

According to the Child Welfare Committee, CHILDLINE, and our direct interactions with adolescent girls, many child marriage cases have been reported during the lockdown period. Many child abuse cases and suicides among teenagers have also been found. Issues like domestic violence against children, cases of run-away children, and teenage pregnancies have been witnessed as well. Besides, there are increased cases of substance abuse among boys.

In interactions with around 1800 adolescents so far (survey-cum-wellbeing sessions) in the last two months, we found that around 60% of them have experienced decreases in food intake as compared to the pre-pandemic period – especially with respect to milk, vegetables, pulses, eggs, meat, fish etc. Around half of their parents lost work and struggle for livelihood.

Some of these adolescents have lost their near and dear ones, including parents, in this period. One-fourth of these children were sad, angry, depressed, stressed and anxious. During wellbeing sessions with them, it was found that almost all children were experiencing some form of mental stress due to various reasons. This has had tremendous negative impact on the growth and development of these children.

Thus, it is not really life verses learning for these children. Their survival requires learning to live. Some parents shared that their children are feeling anxiety, irritation, and boredom in online classes. These children were also reported to lack concentration, and they hesitate to let go of their mobile phones. School closure with lockdown is not merely about loss of learning but also loss of life skills, socialization and socio-emotional development of children. Their interactions with peers, parents, teachers and relatives have lessened. Some of them shared that with no real interactions, they do not have real friends.

Regaining Loss of Learning and Childhood: A Big Challenge Ahead

In this pandemic, digital learning emerged and spread as an alternative to regular schooling processes. Both government and non-government organizations like Patang looked for various alternatives to physical classess, in Radio and TV channels, online and teleconference classes, SMS, IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) in voice, text, picture and community classes and community and youth led approaches etc.

But the fact remains that the school system, especially many teachers at elementary levels, as well as the community system, mainly comprising of parents, suffer from digital illiteracy to a large extent. Patang, in partnership with Quest Alliance, IBM, and Department of Education, Government of Odisha, has been undertaking capacity building training on online platforms for digital engagement with thousands of teachers. This has led to greater use of digital platforms for children’s learning.

“We found children are not growing properly as per their age wise weight. Though children are provided with dry ration, they are not taking cooked meal at home.” -Anganwadi Worker, Burda, Sambalpur

Department of Education initiated online classes and YouTube classes; but very few children access these. One headmaster says, “Out of 50 children, having 17 whatsapp numbers till now and only 4-5 children responded in the group. And with daily followup, a maximum of 5 children attend YouTube classes.” The viewers expected is gradually in a diminishing order rather increasing especially at the elementary level.

Over the last year, access to smart phones has increased for some households. Among these households, most of them have only one mobile phone which again limits online learning of children. However, there is still lack of digital infrastructure like network and electicity. Recharge is also an issue in many pockets of rural areas.

Parents from four poor, working class families from Meghpal village were highly concerned about their children’s learning. When they found out that there would be classes on smart phones, they bought smart phones from the market with their annual savings and some borrowed money. It was unfortunate that in their village there is no network. They found this out only after having bought the phones.

Another thing we observed with the introduction of YouTube classes was parents’ struggles as neo-digital literates and first generation school goers with regard to handling mobile phones. Because of all these challenges, there are significant learning losses observed in children, especially related to the basic skills of reading and writing.

Way Forward

School reopening could potentially alleviate the gaps in socialization and learning, connect children to the wider world, enhance their social and mental wellbeing, and contribute to physical development through nutritional intake through mid-day meals. It can also contribute towards delaying the age of marriage and protect children from hazardous work.

But we still have apprehensions and anxieties related to the threat of third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are yet to have any vaccination program for children. Maintaining COVID appropriate behaviour such as social distancing and ventilation in classrooms is also a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain and the nature of the virus is changing. With regard to school opening and working with children, it is important to take expert guidance of health professionals.

Now we have some data from the process of reopening of certain classes in secondary schools. Prachi Mandekar, a student of class 10 from Nanakram High School says, “I am very happy with school opening and meeting friends; we did not study for around two years in the name of COVID. My parents are also so happy with me going to school.” Similarly, Arati Sahu, a student of Government Girls High School, Kuchinda, says, “I couldn’t even meet my friends and am so happy meeting them. My education has been severely affected. Now I am slowly trying to get back to the old rhythm.”

“Most of the children did not know which class they are in. We observed that most of the children who were good in reading and writing, they have forgotten to write their names and some children cannot identify the alphabet also”. – Marinus Kandulana, CRCC of Meghpal

As data from our experience of working with 127 selected secondary schools shows, the average range of regular attendance rate is 65 to 85 percent, as compared to less than 30% through the online mode before school reopening. And it is increasing day by day. There are schools which have 90% attendance on some days. This happens with the confidence and ownership of parents and teachers and local administration.

In this context, Gita, a teacher from Brajmohan high school says, “It has been a very good experience to have offline classes indeed. Direct interactions with students are really very fruitful. Students not having android sets at their home are getting the most through offline classes.” Phulamani Majhi, HM of Bamra Girls High School, says, “Coming to school and teaching is a valuable part of my daily life. After one and half years, students are back to their proper place. The situation of teaching learning and our connection with students has improved. I’m really happy about it.”

Parents are also quite happy with school reopening, though there are a few who have safety concerns. According to Bijay Kumar, a parent, he is very happy that the school has reopened. His daughter was severely affected educationally and socio-emotionally. She is now focusing on her studies. In a similar way, mother of Snehamayee from Budharaja High School shared that online classes were not fruitful. Her daughter is now taking part in various school activities directly. And this engagement has made her happy and better engaged in learning processes.

Reopening of schools could be better coordinated through decentralising school plans like the way Panchayati Raj Institutions handle zone-wise COVID-19 protocols, lockdown and shutdown etc. In this context, Rina Das, teacher at Barpali Girls’ High School says, “Students have suffered a lot in the pandemic. Their study became stagnant. Though there was fear, we were happy with school reopening. Face to face contact between teachers and students make teaching more effective. Students are happy to come to school. We obey COVID-19 rules. Students from other classes are also eager to come back to school. They should do so.”

In this regard, trust, confidence, and consent of parents, and accountability of school management committees and school personnel would be highly essential. School infrastructure like classrooms, toilets, water systems etc. must be upgraded to meet the challenges of the pandemic, and the required renovations must be made. In order to ensure (re)enrolment in schools, back to school campaigns and drives can be one of our strategies.

Facilitating learning at Community Centers can be a part of this process. Wherever possible, the use of arts, crafts and music can also help children in reintegrating back into the school system.

The dominant narratives with regard to reopening of secondary and higher secondary schools related to Board examinations and pressurizing children to perform for marks are perhaps not a very appropriate way to think about reopening of schools.

Like the welcome ceremony for Class I, all students need to be welcomed in a joyful manner. The learning environment needs to be fun-filled as children are coming back to school after a long time. There is also a need to focus on wellbeing sessions when schools reopen. We need to rethink our pedagogic strategies. It may require diverse approaches and methodologies, and facilitating hybrid/ blended learning processes for those not eager to come to school.

However, as we learnt during the pandemic, education and learning need not be limited to school campuses or textbooks. We always remember the thoughts of Bini while working with out-of-school children; she said, “I am unable to learn the way you teach, could you teach the way I learn?” This reflection has been crucial to us in centre-staging children in thinking, planning and strategizing with various stakeholders – parents and community, school teachers, education department and local governance institutions.