Why schools are struggling to plug pandemic-induced learning losses – Times of India

Apply NEP concepts

Meeta Arora, principal, MVM International School, Mumbai, says the pandemic impacted students’ ability to express themselves, both verbally and in the written format. To deal with this, the educator has reversed the teaching-learning process in her school by introducing the concept of ‘flipped classrooms’, as mentioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

“Daily, teachers assign students the task to read, research, and prepare any one chapter. We encourage them to ask questions and deliver a lecture on the topic in front of the class. Since students have basic knowledge about the topic at hand, they are more open to sharing their ideas, improving their ability to express,” she says.

Active discussions automatically encourage students to take on writing assignments, as they no longer hesitate to work on assignments on topics they understand fully, she adds.

Deal with trauma

Manjusha Tripathi, principal, Shri Ram Global School, Bengaluru, says that learning loss during the pandemic stretches further than just academia. “It is after more than two years of home imprisonment that students have finally ventured outside. While they stayed connected through the online mode, this time acted as a social boycott for them. Also, many of them have suffered personal tragedies that they were unable to deal with,” she says.

The school started its new academic year on April 6. “The first month was treated like a bridge learning course. Our school day was divided into eight periods, including six subject periods, one Moral Education period and one Social Healing period. Interactions between students, teachers and counsellors were heart-wrenching. At this time, we did not focus much on academics, rather allowed students to fill up their social and emotional learning losses,” adds Tripathi.

“Different activities were held that addressed both academic and social learning losses, helping them welcome the process of learning once again,” she says. The school plans to continue these practices so that learning losses can be addressed on all fronts.

Difficult to make up for the loss

Stanley Ignatius, correspondent, St Bede’s Community of Schools, Chennai, says that schools must focus on finishing the curriculum so that students do not suffer further. “While the board is making efforts to help by reducing syllabus, it is not easy to complete the syllabus and ensure that learning losses are recovered at the same time,” he says.

While efforts are being made, they are slow and not the centre of focus for schools. “The best way forward, as we see, is to take on upcoming tasks, in the form of completing the syllabus and preparing students for exams rather than dwell upon learning losses,” he adds.