The New Normal of Primary Education

USING DISRUPTION TO INNOVATE: THE NEW NORMAL OF PRIMARY EDUCATION

BY ASIF SALEH

Education in Bangladesh has, for the most part, stopped. The loss of momentum is not because of a lack of effort—the Government of Bangladesh is broadcasting primary and secondary classes on a state-run television channel and is establishing a national call centre which will connect over 450,000 teachers with students. These are significant initiatives, and BRAC, among other organizations, has contributed to developing lesson plans and the content, and provided resource trainers to conduct classes and groom teachers.

While television schooling and a hotline will allow some students to access some learning, these initiatives will not help children in low-income and marginalized communities—who are the group at the most risk of dropping out. Less than 57% of the households, which BRAC students live in (who are typically from these communities), have access to a television, and less than 40% have access to the internet.

A customized, appropriate, and accessible solution is needed for students in low-income and marginalized communities.

Ninety five percent of BRAC’s students’ families have access to a feature mobile phone (a basic phone with button-based input and a small display screen). This phone is likely to be primarily kept in the pocket of the father in the family. Fathers can be persuaded to be present at home, with the phone, for a specific period, if notified beforehand.

Using this platform, BRAC started piloting a home school model in March 2020, after schools closed. Feature mobile phones are used to connect teachers and students, and self-learning is a focus, both individually and in groups, through children learning groups (CLGs) established with the members who live in close proximity, with limited supervision from teachers. The idea is simple. In absence of classes, learning is moving into a self-learning model with support from peer groups and their parents. The teacher’s role is limited to guiding and checking up on the phone and doing the assessment.

We have piloted 50 BRAC home schools, for Grade 5 students, catering to 20-25 students each. In a BRAC Home School, a teacher connects with a CLG, which consists of four students and their parents, through a twice-weekly group call. Calls last for 15-20 minutes, during which students’ performance is assessed.

These virtual classes, conducted twice a week, are currently reaching more than 180,000 students of 6,890 BRAC home schools (as of August 20, 2020).

A curriculum suitable for home-schooling has been developed, and teachers have been trained virtually.

The first three days of classes focus specifically on psychosocial counselling and well-being. The third and fourth-day focus on revisioning lessons from before their schools closed. After the first week, lessons continue as per their curriculum. Every sixth day of classes consists of a special class, with customized timings decided by the teacher, for students living with disabilities, especially those who are hearing impaired, those who are weaker students or have missed classes.

As the model continues to show potential, we are building on it to create a blended primary education model to make education relevant in the new normal.

We are shifting away from a completely teacher-centered approach towards an approach, where students have more responsibility for their learning, supported by their family, peers, and

the community. Learning outcomes will be monitored through remote technology, instead of hands-on monitoring.

As we transition into the new normal, we will gradually bring in the technology, train our teachers and make changes in the physical classroom set-up to be able to roll out this approach effectively across the country.

A few key insights so far from Bangladesh

There are three key points that I would like to highlight, from our experience in Bangladesh:

• This is an opportunity to bring in technology into classrooms and education administration, but the steps have to be gradual. Technology literacy and access have a long way to go before they can be useful in low-resource settings.

• School dropouts are expected to increase in low-income countries for economic reasons after the pandemic. Adaptability and flexibility to the changing scenario in any model will be essential to reduce this.

• Building back better will be possible with balanced investments in capacity, technology literacy and infrastructure, better assessment methods and more autonomy in learning for students.

Our experience in providing education for over 45 years has shown us that children are vital ambassadors to their families and the wider community by advocating their learnings outside classrooms. So, we see children not only as crucially needing to be supported but also as an invaluable resource in tackling the pandemic.

COVID-19 might be the disruption that the education sector needed to rethink the effectiveness of the current education system. We can collectively drive innovation to flip this disruption as an opportunity to bring in more autonomy and self-learning, better assessment of learning outcomes and more equity in bringing technology to the classroom.

About the author: Asif Salah is the Executive Director of BRAC.