The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the education system. According to a report published on McKinsey, the hurt could last a lifetime. The educational gap has widened due to this new order in the learning system, whereby homes have been converted to classrooms, as students take online lessons.
Unfortunately, not all students have the privilege. This has been the case all over the world due to the closure of schools as a measure to counter the spread of the deadly virus. In the United States, for example, there has been a great gap between the white, Hispanic, black, and students from indigenous communities.
Here is an evaluation of some ways in which the education gap has widened.
Pronounced cost of the pandemic
The sudden appearance and rapid spread of the virus necessitated strict measurement to curb its further spread. All schools closed because the education system was overwhelmed and not well equipped to handle the situation. The US school system that revolves around inside class learning, touching the technological investments in the school level internet, curriculum design, and training of teachers was adversely affected.
As students are taking their lessons from home, for low-income families it is a challenge accessing the internet, a quiet place to study, and the devices to use for the study. Reports show that this has created an educational gap between those students that can access online learning and those that cannot.
Dropouts
Among the long-term effects of the pandemic and the resulting education gap, is the issue of school dropouts. This may happen mostly to students of color and those of low-income families. Estimated, K-12 students in the United States could lose approximately $61,000 to $82,000 in their lifetime. White students would earn $1,348 a year, $2,186 a year for black students, and $1809 for Hispanic students. This amounts to $110 billion in earnings annually for K-12 students. In that amount, $98.8 billion would be due to the low levels of learning. The disparities in education would therefore cause an economic crisis for the United States of America as a whole. They can come along because the tough times may force some students to drop out of school.
How do We stop the Widening Education Gap?
There are, however, ways in which the education gap can be stopped from widening. According to The Federal Communication Commission, about 20 million Americans have no access to the internet and most of those students are students of color. With the new measures, such students are not able to access alternative learning methods.
The New York State in collaboration with the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation has already into redesigning future schooling. Among the measures are, meeting educational needs for students with disabilities, reducing education inequality, removing barriers to high-quality education, and training educators with the expanded toolkit. These measures will help reduce the Education gap and even the less fortunate students will have an opportunity to access quality education.
It is unfortunate that an educational gap has already been established due to the pandemic but it is as well a relief that there are things that can be done to stop the widening of the gap.
- Priyanka Jaisinghani (2020)COVID-19 is widening the education gap. This is how we can stop it. World Economic Forum
- By Emma Dorn, Bryan Hancock, Jimmy Sarakatsannis, and Ellen Viruleg (2020)COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime. McKinsey & company
- By Emma Dorn, Bryan Hancock, Jimmy Sarakatsannis, and Ellen Viruleg (2020)COVID-19 and learning loss—disparities grow and students need help. McKinsey & company