Making up for Latin America’s lengthy school closures
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskGetting there was a struggle, as successive waves of covid-19 saw partial re-openings and their reversal. The school tried distance teaching, with printed material and a free chip with internet time. But “many homes don’t have a good signal,” says Fátima de Almeida, the headmistress. The long break has been punishing.
The school is trying to make up for lost time. The state government doubled resources for remedial teaching and provided a psychologist. Several classes of Portuguese and maths now often have two teachers. Ms de Almeida is seeking parental consent for a longer school day. São Paulo state is relatively well-off and well-governed. Elsewhere the picture is bleaker. Latin America vies with South Asia for having seen the longest school closures during the pandemic.
How much of the lost learning can be recovered? The answer starts with assessing pupils’ level of learning, hiring more teachers and scheduling extra classes in holidays or after school. There is an opportunity to improve teaching methods and simplify curricula, focusing on maths, reading and social and emotional skills, says Ms di Gropello. Even so, there will be lasting harm. The bank thinks the future earnings of affected pupils might be 10% lower than they otherwise might have been.
Inequalities will widen. Poor children, with weak or non-existent internet connections, suffered disproportionately. Before the pandemic, 15-year-olds in Latin America were on average three years behind their peers in theinternational tests. They will now lag further behind. They may ask why politicians, teachers and parents did not push for schools to reopen sooner.
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline"A loss of learning"
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