Page 56 - Tata-Trusts-Annual-Report-2022-23
P. 56

WORKING AROUND THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC

                               ON CHILDREN’S EDUCATION






                               The COVID-19 pandemic  caused unprecedented             The following insights and suggestions thus came
                               challenges and crises and brought life to a             up in the research survey, to pave the path for a
                               standstill  across the  globe.  Children  were          more secure future for children:
                               particularly impacted and their experience of
                               childhood and education was altered.                    •  Relax the eligibility criteria for child-protection
                                                                                         benefit packages.
                               Tata Trusts commissioned a study to understand
                               the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and        •  Conduct rights-based, inclusive sustainable
                               education of children in four states – Jharkhand,         interventions to ensure children are protected.
                               Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh – where a
                               community-based intervention for children was           •  Ensure adequate allocation of resources for
                               rolled out in July 2021. The study was undertaken         education and  implementation of the Right  to
                               by  Council  for  Social  Development  (CSD),  New        Education Act.
                               Delhi, and was concluded in May 2022.
                                                                                       •  Strengthen teacher recruitment, training and
                               The  study  not  only  assessed  the  effect  of  the     school infrastructure.
                               pandemic on the education of rural children and
                               their lives; it also delved deeper into the issues of   •  Revisit the  national  education  curriculum
                               disruption of education due to school closure. The        framework to address learning gaps.
                               study also reports on the initiatives of various
                               stakeholders, from  teachers to  administrators to      •  Recognise digital technology as a tool and not a
                               policymakers to non-government actors, and                replacement for face-to-face education.
                               recommends future directions for them. Of several
                               findings what was startling is that 30% of parents       •  Make  village  councils,  school  management
                               cited reduction in literacy and numeracy skills of        committees and community members, active
                               children,  while  72%  of  students  didn’t  even  have   participants in school education.
                               access to a digital device, the primary requirement
                               for  regular  schooling  online.  25%  of  children
                               reported an irregular supply of take-home rations
                               by schools and Anganwadis.












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