Saturday, 19 March 2022 02:52

After the world's longest school closures, Latin America can lead an educational renaissance

Written by Mauricio Claver

The pandemic has been devastating for students in Latin America and the Caribbean, where schools have been closed for 231 days on average, more than any other region in the world.

This unfortunate record has a silver lining. It is breaking us out of the inertia that for too many years has prevented us from making important educational reforms.

Our countries today are implementing new teaching methods, investing in hybrid learning and striving to connect all students to the Internet.

This pandemic has also made the voice of families heard as they join in the demands for major education reform. Educators believe this is a unique opportunity to transform schools and reduce inequality among young people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Teachers declare that it is "now or never" to help the 168 million children who dropped out of school during the pandemic.

Many governments are determined to seize this opportunity and are working with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on innovative reforms, not only to get children back to school, but also to improve education for future generations.

It is true that each country has specific needs; however, our studies show three types of reforms that are priorities for improving access to education and student outcomes.

First, ensuring the safe reopening of schools, this may not seem relevant in wealthy countries, but in Latin America simple issues such as safe drinking water are critical. Also allow access to vaccines for students and teachers as well as protocols to identify and isolate those infected.

Secondly, schools must help the most vulnerable, they can identify those who are most likely to drop out of school and give them incentives not to do so. A good strategy is to strengthen and expand school feeding programs, as Haiti has done. This has succeeded in retaining and getting low-income students back to school.

Teachers should also assess each student's level of "learning loss" and offer plans to help them regain basic skills. Models such as Teaching at the Right Level have proven effective in remediating losses. The IDB is working with Belize to train teachers in similar methods.

These reforms must include pre-school children, since due to the pandemic many of them are not ready to move on to first grade.

At the secondary level, countries should promote personalized distance tutoring.

They have proven to be one of the most cost-effective ways to make up for lost time. At as little as $100 per person, they can make up the equivalent of a year's worth of math classes for students. The IDB is supporting five countries to pilot programs.

El Salvador and Uruguay are implementing systems to monitor student progress. If they detect serious changes, they send alerts to teachers. The goal is to prevent school dropouts.

Finally, countries should accelerate the transition to hybrid learning systems that eliminate inequalities and prepare young people to thrive, compete and innovate in the digital age. To do this and to overcome connectivity gaps, governments must forge more ambitious partnerships with the private sector.

Costa Rica, Argentina and Jamaica have succeeded in bringing broadband to schools in low-income areas quickly and affordably with so-called "zero-rate" policies.

Digitizing education does not mean replacing face-to-face interaction, but rather adding more value to it, adding personalized learning to increase quality and engagement in the relationship between teachers and students.

Panama is adapting a colombian literacy remediation program that uses personalized assessments and materials to improve reading and comprehension.

Governments can implement reforms more efficiently if they establish innovative partnerships with the private sector. In El Salvador, for example, the IDB is helping to design development impact bonds, in which investors provide capital for education programs and are reimbursed based on the results achieved.

Governments can carry out reforms more efficiently if they establish innovative partnerships with the private sector. In El Salvador, for example, the IDB is helping to design development impact bonds, in which investors provide capital for education programs and are reimbursed based on the results achieved.

Students, teachers and parents are demanding reforms like never before, and the IDB is ready to finance them.

Countries need only seize this opportunity; if they do, the entire region will benefit not only now, but also in the future.