The predictable effects of Covid-19 involuntary long break on children

Feb 17, 2021 Leader Leading Education 0

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Since March 2020, children in Uganda like other countries globally have been in Covid-19 forced long holiday that has left many schools closed and learners confined in their homes. To reduce education losses, different strategies like the use of televised and radio lessons, distribution of learning materials and promotion of remote learning have been used by the government.

Accordingly, the Covid-19 long break for children has exhibited gross education losses, psychosocial trials and a significant increase in child protection concerns; increasing poverty and hunger; widening inequalities and forcing more children into harmful practices such as child labour and early marriages. It’s now clear that many children are not benefiting from home learning and they risk being left behind, besides abuse (Physical, emotional and sexual), exploitation and neglect.

In a discussion with Moses Emanzi, an upper primary pupil in Wakiso district, he had this to say “I have lost hope, I never got the study materials promised by the government, I don’t have a computer and we only watch TV at night. When I try to read at home, I lose concentration and feel bored. I wish I can meet my teachers and my friends at school. I’m worried about Covid-19”. The Covid-19 long break has denied children the sense of structure and stimulation that is provided by the school environment. They further have less opportunity to be with their friends and get that social support that is essential for good mental well-being.

The most worrying effect of the Covid-19 pandemic long break on education is its effect on intellectual development in children. Undoubtedly, even somewhat, brief periods out of school can have a lasting impact. The major concern is that, when schools are closed for long periods, many children will begin to forget what they already know; an academic relapse that will be much harder to cure. When children are at school, they show steady improvements, but this can regress sometimes profoundly during the long school breaks. It’s even worse in poor children who have limited access to education resources.

This may lead to serious lifelong effects on their cognitive capabilities. We are likely to face a big challenge of education inequalities after the pandemic between the children from poor families and those from the rich. These children from well to do families have access to education resources than their poor counterparts.

While the government is promoting home-schooling which seems to be the only option available, certain resources are needed like the internet, a computer or a smartphone and a quiet room to study. Studying from homes assumes that the parents are satisfactorily educated, and have ample time, to be able to support with the lessons.

Some children in our country live in poverty and overcrowded households; in particular, those living in slums. To get access to a quiet room where to read from in this case is therefore unthinkable. I had a chance to meet with 30 children from Namuwongo slum in Makindye division- Kampala. 20 out of 30 children reported that they received study materials from In Need Home, an NGO supporting education for out of school children but only 5 children used the study materials. To them, the whole year is counted as an education dead year. It’s the disadvantaged children who will pay the greatest price here, as they will fall the furthest behind, and have the fewest resources available to ‘catch up’.

By Michael Tumwesigye

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