Students’ enrolment in Punjab schools dropped by 29% during pandemic

According to a World Bank survey, the number of teenage pupils enrolled in public and private schools in Punjab dropped drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey revealed that school closures due to the epidemic put an additional load on female students, who self-studied while taking care of household tasks, whilst boys stayed mainly outside the home.

"Boys spent significantly more time outside the home doing paid employment, ranging from an average of 29 minutes during the first round of school closures to 11 minutes from September to October 2021," it stated. According to the survey, the most significant cause for the enormous drop-out is financial issues.

Various barriers in remote learning, particularly for girls, were also noted in the report. Girls were also found to have limited access to television and mobile phones at home in some cases.

"Mothers reported that their husbands did not believe it was suitable for children, particularly girls, to watch television and had either thrown the television away or refused to establish a cable connection," according to the research.

The lack of interaction with instructors and classmates, the pace of teaching, and the medium of education are all non-technical variables that have hampered the impact of distant learning.