"We need data on the learning loss and remaining challenges. Then we will make plans to mitigate those. To implement the plans, we need adequate investment."

— RASHEDA K CHOUDHURY, executive director of CAMPE

After a difficult 2020, the county's education sector returned to some degree of normalcy last year.

For students, it had been a tough year, as they could not return to their classrooms until September because of Covid restrictions that began way back in March, 2020.

Students in general suffered learning loss and those lacking access to digital devices were deprived of remote learning.

However, the reopening of classrooms on a limited scale in September was a relief. But the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has put a fully-fledged reopening of schools into uncertainty.

"Every sector was affected by the pandemic. Education probably is the worst-affected sector because of the prolonged closure," eminent educationist Rashed K Choudhury told The Daily Star.

Girl students suffered the most. Many girls dropped out and were married off, she said.

A study by Power and Participation Research Centre and Brac Institute of Governance and Development on October 19 said 3.96 million primary and 3.9 million secondary students were at the risk of learning loss.

A report published in December last year by the World Bank, Unesco and Unicef projected the impacts of the pandemic-related school closure, saying a generation of students risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value, or about 14 percent of the global GDP.

During the 18 months of closure, many schools, especially the privately run ones in cities and urban areas quickly adapted to online education. But school in rural areas found it difficult.

CHANGES IN EXAM SYSTEM

The SSC and HSC exams were held on a curtailed syllabus after a nine-month delay. The SSC exams began on November 14, marking the resumption of public tests. The HSC and equivalent exams began on December 2.

The universities reopened campuses in late September after inoculation of students began across the country.

The university entrance exams, which also remained suspended, began in late September. For the first time, Dhaka University held admission tests in all divisional cities.

Twenty public universities held the entrance exams in clusters in 2021.

The government introduced a digital lottery system to enroll students from class-I to -IX.

In September, the government put forth a fresh curriculum for primary and secondary levels, scrapping all exams until the third grade and all public exams before the SSC. The plan is set to be implemented in phases from January 2023, and will be fully implemented by 2025.

WAY FORWARD

To bridge the gap created by the pandemic, Rasheda K Choudhury said the government needs reliable data.

"There should be an education census based on household data. Once we get the picture, we can plan on how to mitigate the challenges."

She added that there is no alternative to combining online education and classroom teaching.