Learning loss for Covid: Class 5 students suffered most for school closure

School closure due to Covid-19 has caused a significant learning loss to primary students and class-V students were the worst affected, says a study.

According to Learning Loss Study 2022, revealed at a city hotel yesterday, class-II students suffered the least learning loss.

The study, done by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, said 16.43 percent class-V students suffered learning loss in Bangladesh and Global Studies and 12.49 percent in English.

Average marks were compared between Learning Loss Study 2022 and Curriculum Effectiveness Study 2019, the study mentioned.

Before the school closure due to the pandemic, the average rate of learning in English for the class-V students was about 49 percent and it stood at 36 percent after the closure.

The average learning rate of students of the same class was 68.03 percent in Bangladesh and Global Studies in 2019 and it dropped to 51.60 percent in 2022.

Speaking at the event, Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education, said all came to know about the great loss for students from a government study and it is a good move. "But we need measures to recover the losses."

The NCTB, with support from the European Union, carried out the study to identify the learning loss of primary school students and to prepare an action plan to recover the loss.

For the study, 18,838 students from 240 primary schools took part in a test on Bangla, mathematics, English, science and Bangladesh and Global Studies.

The study said about 48 percent of class-V students have a severe and moderate learning gap in Bangla, 61 percent in English and 59 percent in mathematics, 54 percent in science and 60 percent in Bangladesh and Global Studies.

It added that around 60 percent of class-IV students experienced the same learning gap in Bangla, 62 percent in English, 59 percent in mathematics, 56 percent in science and 64.14 percent in Bangladesh and Global Studies.

About 64 percent of class-III students went through severe and moderate gaps in Bangla, 63 percent in English and mathematics and 58 percent in science and Bangladesh and Global Studies, according to the study.

The study recommended having a need-based "Remedial Education Package". Teacher training on the teaching-learning techniques for implementing the remedial learning packages is essential.

School Based Assessment should be re-designed as part of remedial education to help students with severe learning gaps.

Zakir Hossain, state minister for primary and mass education, however, disagreed with the study findings. "We have over 65,000 government primary schools and the sample size of the study covered only 240 schools. The study said students cannot read Bangla properly. I don't agree with this."

At the programme, Charles Whiteley, EU ambassador to Bangladesh, said the report admitted and recognised the learning gap. "I believe it is already halfway into solving it."

Education Minister Dipu Moni said Covid-19 created a learning loss, but students got an opportunity to learn new things like online classes. She also said that they will take measures to recover the learning loss.