6. Findings
6.2. Education and COVID-19
6.2.1. Continuation and changes after the onset of COVID-19
A slight difference is found in school participation among adolescents before and after COVID-19 restrictions were imposed. Before the pandemic, 96.74% of the adolescents went to school, while the rate decreased to 94.43% as pandemic-related mobility restrictions subsided. There is a significant difference between the male and female cohorts. At least 5% of males were not in school before COVID-19, which increased to 8.81% after the pandemic. The rates for adolescent girls were 1.99% and 3.66%, respectively. If we look at only adolescent male data, we find that the change is driven mainly by adolescent boys in Cumilla.
46
Figure 6.2.1: Percentage of male adolescents out of school by area (N=738)
Figure 6.2.2: Percentage of female adolescents out of school by area (N=1256)
Before COVID-19, 5.77% of male adolescents in Cumilla said that they were not in school and the rate increased to 12.07% after COVID-19. In Gaibandha, 1.11% of adolescents said that they were out of school which slightly increased to 3.67% after the COVID-19 lockdown period. No difference was visible in Narail both before and after the COVID-19 period. The highest change is found in Cumilla where out-of-school students rose by around 7% after COVID-19 compared to before the pandemic.
In the case of adolescent girls, it is interesting to note the change among married adolescents:
an increase from 6% to 10% from before COVID to after COVID.
5.77
12.07
1.11 1.67
9.04 9.04
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
before covid after covid
Comilla Gaibanda Narail
1.98
4.27
2.24
4.17
1.74 1.74
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
before covid after covid
Comilla Gaibanda Narail
47 There is a significant difference in education status by marital status both before and after COVID-19. While 33% of married adolescents said that they were not in school before COVID-19, the rate went up to 55% after the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Figure 6.2.3: Adolescents’ reasons for not going to school after COVID-19, in percentage (N=111) Those who did not go to school after COVID-19 were asked why they dropped out. Only 0.55% of adolescents could not return to school after COVID-19 as they were either working outside or at home. Of the remaining adolescents, 35% did not want to study, while 15% said that they could not afford school.
Figure 6.2.4: Adolescents’ reasons for not going to school that was affected by COVID-19, in percentage (N=111)
The adolescents were asked which of the reasons for not going to school were affected by COVID-19. Of all the reasons for not returning to school, COVID-19 was identified as the reason
35.14
15.32
9.9
0.55
40
0 10 20 30 40 50
Reasons for not returning school
Reasons for not going to school
don’t want to study cant afford to study
because of school closure because of working home or outside others
35.65
16.33
24.48
2.04
21.5
0 10 20 30 40
Reasons for not returning school
Reasons that were affected by COVID
don’t want to study cant afford to study school closure working home or outside others
48 why adolescents said that they felt the unwillingness to study (35%), could not afford to study (16%), the school was closed (24%), and that they had to work (2%).
Among the seven adolescents who were either working outside or doing at-home kind of work, they said that they did not work before the COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining 10 said that they were involved in some kind of work before COVID-19. However, qualitative data revealed that these adolescents want to return to school after reopening.
In the qualitative research, we had 26 adolescents currently in school out of 36 adolescents interviewed. Among the 24 adolescent girls in the qualitative research, 18 were students still enrolled in an institution. Among those who dropped out, five were married or engaged and cited marriage specifically as a reason for dropping out. The sixth considered her dropping out to be temporary, and said she will be continuing her education as soon as it becomes financially feasible. Among the 18 adolescent girls still affiliated with schools, all six married students were registered to give the coming board exams (two HSC examinees and four SSC examinees) and seemed unlikely to continue studying afterward. Of the 12 unmarried students still going to school, nine respondents were in grade 9 (about 14 years old) or younger and thus were
considered too young to be required to get married. There was one exceptional respondent who was an HSC candidate whose parents wanted her to be a police officer. The remaining two school-going students are currently helping the family financially in some way.
Of the 12 adolescent boys interviewed, eight were in school, two of whom were also working.
Among those who have dropped out, two were working full time and the other two will be working soon.
The qualitative research further explored how the adolescents reacted to school closure and the implications it had for them.
In almost all cases, widespread anxiety was expressed by both parents and students over the school closure. Some initially felt happy about a break from studies, although it meant not being with friends. But compounded with the norm of early marriage and financial pressures, it was soon overtaken by worry. This was particularly the case for two groups of students. Those who had board exams coming up when the lockdown was announced were unnerved by the
uncertainty. Many of this group of students also represented a group nearing the age of marriage and for them, the uncertainty of their future.
“If I could tell my parents the exact exam date, my wedding would have been postponed till then. The uncertainty scared my parents, and I was also only sitting home doing nothing.”
—Female (15), Cumilla
Some of the adolescents felt that school closure meant they were able to help out at home, either financially or in domestic work.
49 For the parents, the biggest source of worry was adolescents, especially girls, now having ample free time to explore romantic relationships. Romantic relationships are considered detrimental to the reputation of the entire family and the girl’s future marital prospects. With boys, the main fear of the parents was that the academic momentum would be lost.
“When school initially closed, I was angry, wanted to kill the teachers, why wouldn’t they reopen school! I wanted to be a doctor…It is okay now if I study until grade 8 or 9. I enrolled in school because my father said he will hit me if I don’t attend.”
—Male (15), Cumilla
A potential solution sought by parents was religious education. Madrasas were kept open longer than formal schools and were considered a form of alternative education. Parents in rural
Cumilla had also organized informal morning classes for the boys in the area to get together and read from the Quran to both occupy their time and positively influence their actions.
The District Education Officer in Gaibandha believed a more accurate dropout rate would be possible to obtain once the final exams took place, and many students may be further attracted by the reduced number of classes and subjects. A secondary school headmaster in Narail
expressed similar views. The idea of remedial education was unpopular as it would mean extra classes. The ministry was also expected to send out a circular on fees, which may have had a positive impact on children’s attendance. The District Education Officer had also called Zoom meetings with local teachers to ask them to personally reach out to students to encourage them to return to school. Given the added awareness of adolescent problems, a UP member in
Gaibandha mentioned adding adolescents’ problems like child marriage, menstrual hygiene, dropping out, and eve-teasing in the curriculum.