Indonesia’s schools closed with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, triggering a sudden shift to distance learning that has affected the education and wellbeing of 68.8 million students.
A World Bank study has found that this shift led to an estimated learning loss of between 0.9 and 1.2 years and a decrease in reading competence of 25 to 35 points on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reading score up to June 2021, with further losses anticipated since the study was completed, as school closures continued until early 2022. The study also found that students suffered from psychosocial wellbeing and physical health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following technical discussions with Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECRT), the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), and private education companies, the World Bank has published three technical notes on Indonesia’s learning recovery: 1) Framework for Learning Recovery during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond, 2) Technical Note on Effective Hybrid Learning with EdTech, 3) Technical Note on Psychosocial Support During and Post Covid-19 Pandemic. These three notes consider solutions for continuing education service delivery and for supporting the psychosocial wellbeing of students and education stakeholders.
While many schools and madrasahs (religious schools) reopened in time for the academic year 2022, MoRA and World Bank team have been able to support learning recovery through the ongoing Realizing Education’s Promise – Madrasah Education Quality Reform (REP MEQR) project. This project has been able to respond to the pandemic through increased use of education technology and promotion of psychosocial wellbeing recovery for students. The project also conducted a student learning assessment following school closures to establish how to adjust classroom activities to meet student needs.
Key findings and recommendations from the study and technical notes:
