‘To recoup learning loss, schools should focus on catch-up, not curriculum’

The adverse impact on India’s children of school closures for nearly two years during the Covid-19 pandemic is now becoming clearer through recent large-scale surveys. It’s no surprise that these surveys indicate significant learning loss among children, given that schools were closed for over 500 days, says Rukmini Banerji, CEO of Pratham Education Foundation. The two major challenges for India right now are ensuring a better learning experience for primary school children who missed formative years of schooling, and helping those past the grade III stage recover learning loss, Banerji told us in an interview. To achieve this, schools must focus on catching up, not curriculum, she says, and suggests a re-haul of the examination system.