At the height of global shutdowns last year, 188 countries closed their schools, affecting over a billion children who have been placed at risk of falling behind on their education. Naturally, just as work-from-home was made a norm at the time, so was learning-at-home or remote learning. UNICEF noted that around 80 per cent of the countries that went for school shutdowns resorted to some kind of remote learning practice. But over a year of remote learning, it has become clear that remote learning cannot automatically be custom-fitted to take the place of learning in a school environment.

The single biggest reason for this is the considerable digital gap between students from different backgrounds and countries. UNICEF data shows that around 31 per cent or 463 million school-going children could not be reached through broadcast or digital media as they lacked the necessary infrastructure at home or because they were not targeted by policies to effectively implement remote learning. With remote learning currently failing to be as comprehensive a solution to the education problem during the pandemic, the focus once again has shifted to swiftly reopening schools and doing so safely.

Last week, the UN insisted that schools closed due to the pandemic must reopen. James Elder, spokesman for the UN Children's Fund told reporters that "schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen". He added that it was a "terrible mistake" to reopen bars before reopening schools. He also emphasised that "Reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated."

Elder referenced a grim prediction made by the World Bank last year in regards to the 1.6 billion school children whose education was being delayed, stating that without remedial action, this generation of students could incur as much as $ 10 trillion in lost earnings. Back in India, last week, a group of 50 academicians, doctors, lawyers and parents from Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka have written to their respective state CMs to urge them to reopen schools. The argument is one that is increasingly being used worldwide. The pandemic is not going away any time soon and COVID-19 may actually be here to stay.

In this case, shutting down to avoid the risk of infections is a strategy with limited effectiveness and the negatives soon outweigh any positive safety benefits. The petitioners stated that children being forced to stay at home not only creates learning loss but also leads to mental distress and reduced social skills. Furthermore, the petitioners have pointed out that despite the scientific consensus that it would be best to reopen schools with restrictions, most education institutes throughout the country remain shut. The suggestion from the group is not to blindly dive in however but rather reopen educational institutions in a staggered manner, starting with pre-primary and primary sections before moving on to secondary education.

At the same time, other measures must also be undertaken such as priority vaccinations for teaching staff and reduced number of days for physical attendance of schools. But of course, nothing is quite so simple. While schools are being reopened across the world, new waves of COVID are also causing them to be shut down elsewhere. The general scientific consensus according to the available evidence is that children are less likely to be infected by the virus and even if they are infected, they are less likely to go through more severe illnesses. But it is also important to note that the effect of new COVID variants such as the infectious Delta variant has not been adequately studied as of now. While there is evidence that not only is the Delta variant more infectious but also more likely to cause hospitalisations, there is simply no similar data for younger age groups.

What is known is that children can still act as highly effective carriers of the virus precisely because it is less likely for them to exhibit any serious symptoms. This becomes a particular cause for concern with the more virulent Delta variant. At the same time, vaccinations for children are yet to properly kick-off worldwide. But this cannot mean that inaction is the answer. Social distancing, masking, proper ventilation and timely vaccination of everyone around the school going children from teaching staff to family members are just some of the measures that can be adopted to help children get back to school faster and safer. 

(With Agency Inputs)