WORLD leaders seem to agree that a greater focus on improving children’s access to education is crucial, even during challenging or unforeseen circumstances. If they are really serious about transforming education, they must do what is necessary to prevent the learning losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic from recurring.

Countries are slowly rebounding from the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and if it weren’t obvious before, it is becoming abundantly clear that the most vulnerable in our societies have been among the most harmed.

Children, particularly those in low-income households and communities without adequate social safety nets and uninterrupted access to educational resources, were among those worst affected by the pandemic.

Cognisant of this, world leaders and other stakeholders gathered in New York, in the United States of America (USA) last week for a “Transforming Education Summit” organised by the United Nations (UN).

This summit was reportedly convened in response to a global crisis in education, wherein inequities and exclusion were rampant. In fact, a 2020 study by UNICEF and the International Telecommunications Union found that more than 800 million young people worldwide lacked internet access at home.

Expectedly, many of those individuals experienced challenges in engaging in remote, online learning and engagement.

This isn’t an unknown or unheard-of occurrence right here in Guyana. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the disparities in education were magnified. For example, the lack of much-needed educational resources and facilities in rural and hinterland communities was a sore (and, thankfully, well-ventilated) concern. Many children in those regions grappled with costly mobile data, unreliable internet and electricity (if any at all), and a challenging online schooling environment.

Because of these challenges, it should not be surprising that teachers and parents condoned the clandestine, unsanctioned reopening of schools. They knew that children were experiencing enormous learning losses. Challenges to childcare and safety were also abundant during the pandemic.

These challenges must never repeat themselves regardless of what global shocks countries experience. If they recur, it means that we have not learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and have failed to institute programmes to cushion such shocks. And they are challenges that must be addressed now so that they do not result in irreversible, lifelong learning losses that impact children’s quality of life.

In response to these challenges (and many, many more), several initiatives were pursued in Guyana. With the absence of deeper analyses and assessments, I cannot speak to the effectiveness of these initiatives. Yet, I think Guyana gets points for trying.

To Guyana’s credit, there were apparent efforts at equalising education delivery and making resources more available. Textbooks and educational content were created for learners. Where internet facilities could not be immediately established or improved, other means of broadcasting information (television stations and radio channels) were strengthened.

Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali spoke of these efforts at the summit. He also highlighted the government’s ambitious plans to improve education in Guyana, including increasing national spending on education to 20 per cent of the country’s national budget, and fulfilling his party’s manifesto promise of free tertiary education by 2025.

The Head of State also touted ongoing efforts to support families through the schoolchildren’s cash grant, uniform vouchers, and the school feeding programme.

Beyond President Ali’s plans and ongoing programmes, the presentations from other world leaders were very telling. Those presentations were one way of understanding the gaps between developed and developing countries. For some countries, transforming education meant infusing more artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technologies; for others, it meant children were adequately clothed and fed, so that they could even come to school in the first place.

With this wide-ranging focus, I think the most fundamental priority has to be ensuring that the challenges faced in the pandemic really never happen again.

The most basic yet profound consideration should be that children’s learning losses, be it dropping out of school or being unable to meaningfully ‘catch up,’ impact the quality of life they are able to live.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss the column or any of my previous work, please feel free to email me at: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com