During the troughs and crests of each wave of COVID-19 over two years, parents, especially those from lower socio-economic groups who were struggling to make ends meet with the threat of job loss and pay cuts, watched helplessly as their children struggled with online classes. Poor parents are desperate about the future of their children and fully conscious of the devastating toll that prolonged closure of schools has taken on the learning, socio-emotional development and behaviour of their children, said authors of the study Cries of Anguish.
In a survey carried out in Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, the National Coalition of the Education Emergency (NCEE) learnt that most parents said their child’s ability to read and write had declined, stayed the same or could not be determined, compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the households surveyed in Karnataka, 69% of respondents fell in this category, with 80% having enrolled their children in public schools. In comparison, 59% of parents whose children were in private schools said they observed a decline in their child’s ability to read and write or lack of improvement, or could not determine any change.
