Daily Times

An important Inter-Provincial Education Ministers’ Conference (IPEMC) has been rescheduled and now it will take place on 08 July. The conference was all set to review the reopening of the educational institutions including schools, colleges and universities across the country. As the government is mulling plans to reopen the universities with strict implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) but no final decision has been made yet.

In a country where even almost 75 million children now out of school, continued school closure will result in an educational and social disaster that will take generations to repair. A recent Gallup Poll in Pakistan has 74 percent of respondent parents in favour of school reopening. We also have examples of student protests as they see their educational prospects suffer and their chances of upward mobility shrink. It’s 120-180 days since schools, academies and universities have been shuttered across the country. Governments are risk averse – and rightly so. Parents and students here are also listening and watching. While Pakistan has reopened most other parts of economy and society, the education sector remains under lockdown. Students on the other hand have been demanding regular classes despite of online classes where there would be an inclusive environment for all including internet and equipment availability to meet the modern day challenges classes.

The government extended the closure of educational institutions and cancelled all exams following a decision made by the meeting of inter-provincial education ministers and the National Coordination Committee (NCC). Around 4.5 million students appear in board exams conducted by 29 educational boards across the country every year. The Higher Education Commission and universities will finalise standard operating procedures to deal with the exams issue. Now all the students of classes 9 and 11 from both public and private schools will be promoted without examinations, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood announced, but a legislative change or an amendment will be required for the move.

In a country where even almost 75 million children now out of school, continued school closure will result in an educational and social disaster that will take generations to repair

The evidence is clear: the mortality rate in young people, especially those under the age of 23, is statistically insignificant. A new study by Cambridge University statisticians shows that the chance of anyone under the age of 15 dying from Covid is 1 in 3.5 million. To put this number in perspective, the probability of being struck by lightning is 1 in 700,000. Children also tend to get less sick from the virus than adults. A recent Health Advisory by Unicef makes clear that children who do get infected generally show mild symptoms and recover well. In addition to low mortality and morbidity, children are also weak vectors – their capability of passing on the disease to others is much lower than adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the near-total closures of schools, universities and colleges. School closures in response to COVID-19 have shed light on food insecurity Various social and economic issues, including student debt, digital learning, food insecurity, and homelessness, as well as access to childcare, health care, housing, internet, and disability services. The impact was more severe for Students debt disadvantaged children and their families, causing interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare problems, and consequent economic cost to families who could not work. In response to school closures, UNESCO recommended the use of distance learning programmes and open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach learners remotely and limit the disruption of education.

Education systems around the world are working to react to the unexpected outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. As of 188 countries have taken measures to implement country-wide closures of education and learning institutions, be they kindergartens, schools, vocational training colleges or universities. An estimated 1.60 billion learners are off schools, which represent 91.3% of total enrolled learners in the world and an unprecedented situation in the history of education1. Moreover, about 63 million primary and secondary teachers have also been affected, and where ICT infrastructure and stable internet connection exists, are trying to transfer teaching and learning online.

One reason for the absence of infections could be that children have fewer of the receptors the virus uses to enter the body, according to Prof Herman Goosens, the coordinator of an EU Task Force on Covid-19. According to Goosens, children account for less than one percent of infections. Recent evidence from Germany, Denmark, Finland and France, where schools have reopened, is instructive. No statistical correlation has been found between the reopening of schools and the Ro or infection rate in these countries going forward. Nor did significant infection clusters emerge in communities where schools have reopened or in schools themselves. Prof Goosens’ advice is to bring children back to school. This is echoed by the executive director of Unicef, who wrote, ”the risks of keeping schools closed outweigh the health risks caused by the pandemic.”

Of the almost 50 million children in school, three out of every five attend private school. This makes Pakistan one of the few countries in the world where the private sector accounts for such a large proportion of the education system. Over 85 percent of the almost 200,000 private schools that dot the length and breadth of the country are low cost institutions (fees of Rs2000 per month or less), and most function from rented premises. Therein lies the rub: prolonged closures such as the one we are experiencing mean fee incomes for most low cost schools dry up, while recurring costs such as teacher salaries and rent continue to pile up. While a sliver (less than five percent) of elite private schools will likely weather the Covid pandemic, the end outcome for the sector is foretold: permanent closure as schools go bankrupt. Recent evidence suggests that the process is underway. The All Pakistan Private Schools Federation estimates that almost 15 percent of schools have already gone under, with more in the pipeline, and about 1500,000 teachers would be unemployed. Unlike other industries, which can be setup relatively fast, constituting human capital intensive and trust heavy businesses like schools takes several years. We face the stark prospect of children not having schools to go to when the government eventually decides to reopen education.

Countries are adopting different strategies – in many cases a mix of them – to cope with the situation, including organizing exams with special arrangements, cancellation, postponement, rescheduling, going on-line exams and assessments, and introducing alternative approaches to exams and validation of learning. A multitude of evidence, including a recent study by Unesco, suggests that even a few weeks out of the classroom have a severely regressive impact on learning outcomes. The impact is magnified for younger children for whom a few weeks of lost lessons can mean a setback of several months in terms of numeracy, literacy and reasoning skills.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan the response government have received on tele-school was very discouraging. Due to the failure of tele-school project, now the government planed to launch a radio channel, exclusively focusing on students’ classes and introducing other technology-based initiatives. Online education has been an extremely poor substitute for the actual classroom, particularly for school children. This is so even in countries with advanced digital infrastructure and wide access to the internet. In Pakistan with per capita income of $1195, an average of 3-4 children per household, and high-speed internet penetration of less than 30 percent, online schooling remains a pipe dream. The online schooling provided by a small cohort of elite schools, while ineffective, only serves to widen the educational apartheid between the privileged few and the teeming multitudes.

The WHO, the UN and in Pakistan, All Pakistan Private Schools Federation have published guidelines for the safe reopening of schools. Pakistan must draw on these and begin to reopen by adopting now tried and tested SOPs including: temperature checks; two school shifts, which will halve class size and allow for social distancing in classrooms; cutting out breaks and non-essential lessons; mandatory mask wearing; frequent use of sanitizers and an awareness programme for students on the importance of these SOPs. The latter will also help in reinforcing safety outside of school.

The writer is President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation. President@pakistanprivateschools.com