Evidence to Action
COVID-19 and the Deepening Learning Crisis:
How can We Build Forward Better?
Evidence from Bangladesh
1 July 2021
PPRC-BIGD Study Team Members
Atiya Rahman, Senior Research Associate Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director
Md. Saiful Islam, Research Associate Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman
Umama Zillur, Senior Research Associate Billal Hossain, Sr. Field Research Specialist
PPRC BIGD
Background
Educational institutions in Bangladesh are closed since 18 March ‘20
*Foundational Reading Skill Assessment
This figure may increase to 76% due to the prolonged school closure
(The World Bank, 2021)
58% of Bangladeshi children did not achieve minimum reading proficiency* by grade V even before the pandemic
(Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2019)
Learning Crisis: Getting Worse by COVID
Issues related to the learning crisis
Inequality of learning opportunities because of socioeconomic and digital divide
Learning retention loss and inadequate learning due to school closure
Dropout risk after the schools re-open
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2
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Learning retention loss and inadequate learning due to
school closure
Early Indications of Learning Loss
BIGD-Malaya University survey in May ‘20 found a reduction in all forms of study outside school including private tuition, coaching, and even self-studying (both supervised and
unsupervised) after school closure
(COVID-19, Schooling, and Learning in Bangladesh by BIGD and University of Malaya, May 2020)
PPRC-BIGD survey in March ’21 reconfirms the risk of deepening of the learning crisis in
Bangladesh
during the school closure
are not studying or have stopped their education
or are studying unsupervised by themselves
or have irregular and infrequent modes of study
In PPRC-BIGD study in March ’21, children identified
as being at risk of learning loss are those who
19% of primary and 25% of secondary students
An estimated 5.92 million* Bangladeshi school children
Urban secondary school boys are at highest risk (30%)
*3.42 million primary and 2.5 million secondary students. Calculation based on total number of primary and secondary school children in Bangladesh
- PPRC-BIGD Livelihood Survey- Phase III, March 2021
At risk of learning loss
TOP concerns among parents and guardians
(PPRC-BIGD Livelihood Survey Phase III, March 2021)
motivation loss (59%)
learning loss (48%)
Parents and Guardians are also concerned
Trigger Question(s)
How to deliver catch-up education to help
students recover what they lost, and acquire
grade appropriate learning?
Inequality of learning opportunities because of
socioeconomic and digital divide
Market mechanisms most dominant coping strategy
51% of primary students and 61% of secondary students using coaching or private tutoring
Growing burden of education costs
33% increase during late recovery phase compared to pre- COVID* in urban slums while per capita income is still 14%
below the pre-COVID
-PPRC-BIGD Livelihood Survey- Phase III, March 2021
*We compared our baseline survey conducted in 2017 with PPRC-BIGD livelihood survey. We adjusted inflation for this comparison.
Growing cost of education
Just 10% students reported utilizing distance learning tools
Difference in online class, the most dominant form of distance learning, is very sensitive to economic status — 6% to 16%
Students more interested in interactive modes (online classes) than non-interactive modes (television) but a small fraction
have access to internet
Digital divide and inequality in access to distance learning
(PPRC-BIGD Livelihood Survey- Phase III, March 2021)
Digital Literacy and Access to Public Services Survey by BIGD, 2019
8%
25% 26%
46%
14-16 17-20
Internet access among men and women of age groups 14-16 and 17-20
Female Male
Trigger Question(s)
How to ensure quality last-mile delivery of
education, one that does not exacerbate
inequality?
Dropout risks after schools
reopen
Pre-COVID national dropout rates — 18% at primary and 38% at secondary level (BANBEIS, 2019)
Prolonged school closures can drastically increase dropout through worsening
socio-economic condition
ability to catch-up
After the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, 13% of the children did not return to schools when they reopened. In Liberia, the rate was 25%
(High-frequency phone survey by the World Bank, 2015)
Dependence on market mechanism
46% of the parents and guardians concerned about growing expense burden of education
(PPRC-BIGD Livelihood Survey- Phase III, March 2021)
In the World Bank survey after Ebola, the most prominent reasons of dropouts were financial
How do we bring children who were vulnerable to dropping out back to schools?
How to provide life opportunities to dropped-out children who do not or cannot come back to the classroom?
Trigger Question(s)
2. Inequality of learning opportunities because of socioeconomic and digital divide How to ensure quality last-mile delivery of education, one that does not exacerbate inequality?
1. Learning retention loss and inadequate learning due to school closure
How to deliver catch-up education to help students recover what they lost, and acquire grade appropriate learning?
3. Dropout risk after the schools re-open
How do we bring children who were vulnerable to dropping out back to schools?
How to provide life opportunities to dropped-out children who do not or cannot come back to the classroom?
