COVID-19 school closure may cost over $400 billion to India: World Bank

The prolonged closure of schools due to the COVID19 pandemic in India may cause a loss of over USD 400 billion in the countrys future earnings besides substantial learning losses according to a World Bank reportSouth Asia region stands to lose USD 622 billion from the school closures in the present scenario or up to USD 880 billion in a more pessimistic scenario it said adding while the regional loss is largely driven by India all countries will lose substantial shares of their GDPThe report titled Beaten or Broken Informality and COVID19 in South Asia claims that South Asia is set to plunge into its worstever recession in 2020 as the devastating impacts of COVID19 on the regions economies lingerTemporary school closures in all South Asian countries have had major implications for students They have kept 391 million students out of school in primary and secondary education further complicating efforts to resolve the learning crisis said the reportWhile most governments have made enormous efforts to mitigate the impact of school closures it has been difficult to engage children through remote learning initiatives it saidThe report also noted that the pandemic may cause up to 55 million students to drop out from the education system and cause substantial learning losses which will have a lifetime impact on the productivity of a generation of studentsMost school systems closed in March and though there are important exceptions countries are starting to reopen or have already opened their schools Children have been out of school for approximately 5 months Being out of school for that long means that children not only stop learning new things they also forget some of what they have learnedThe projected learning loss for the region is 05 years of learningadjusted years of schooling LAYS falling from 65 LAYS to 60 LAYS an enormous setback from recent advances in schooling it saidThe Learning Adjusted Year of Schooling LAYS concept introduced by the World Bank seeks to combine access and learning outcomes into a single measureIt combines quantity years of schooling and quality how much kids know at a given grade level into a single summary measure of human capital in a societyThe report has projected that based on country data on household labor incomes the average child in South Asia may lose USD 4400 in lifetime earnings once having entered the labour market equivalent to 5 percent of total earningsThese projections are based on what we currently know about returns to schooling using the reduced level of learning caused by the crisis Summing these numbers for all children in South Asia the region stands to lose USD 622 billion from the school closures in the present scenario or up to USD 880 billion in a more pessimistic scenarioWhile the regional loss is largely driven by India all countries will lose substantial shares of their GDP For reference note that South Asian governments spend only USD 400 billion per year in total on primary and secondary education The total loss in economic output from the current closures is hence substantially higher than what countries currently spend on education it saidThe novel corona virus has infected over 37 crore people across the globe claiming over 105 lakh livesIndias COVID19 caseload stands at 712 lakhs while the number deaths is 109 lakh as on MondayUniversities and schools across the country were ordered shut on March 16 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus On March 25 the Centre announced a nationwide lockdown While several restrictions have been eased gradually in different phases of the unlock since June 8 educational institutions continue to remain closedHowever according to the latest unlock guidelines schools colleges and other educational institutions outside COVID19 containment zones can reopen after October 15 The final decision on reopening the institutions has been left with the states and Union territoriesKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever