Using evidence will create strong foundations for the future of education in India

In June 2022, the Indian Government released its first national assessment of learning since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (the National Achievement Survey), showing that student learning competencies in most states had dropped over the last two years.

The average learning proficiency rate across all grades and subjects dropped from 48% in 2017 to 34% in 2021.

This is a pattern that has been seen globally, and gives an idea of the effect school closures, and the broader impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have had on the education of children around the world.

UNICEF is a co-host of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) along with the World Bank and the UK Government. 

The GEEAP consists of 13 expert panelists from around the world, three of whom are from India; Nobel Laureate 2019 Professor Abhijit Banerjee, Yidan Prize Winner 2021 Dr. Rukmini Banerji and Professor Karthik Muralidharan have all contributed to the panels' understanding of how we are strengthening global education systems.

Overall, the panel's goal is to improve the use of evidence in educational policy decisions around the world. 

The GEEAP recently released a report – Prioritizing Learning While COVID-19: The Most Effective Ways to Keep Children Learning While and Post-Pandemic – which provides recommendations on how to respond to educational needs after Covid-19.

In June, members of GEEAP met the Indian ministerial delegation at the Education World Forum in London, an annual event where ministers from around the world gather to share their challenges and successes. 

They discussed how the report's recommendations could contribute to the recovery of the education system in India after the impact of the pandemic's disruption to normal school routines, including full and partial school closures for extended periods of time. Such disruptions have had a knock-on effect on students' abilities.