Question

Physical classes have been suspended in schools in India for over 1.5 years now. While some students were able to study online, learning remained inaccessible for most. Two surveys — School Children’s Online and Offline Learning (SCHOOL) and Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) — evaluated the impact of the pandemic on learning outcomes. In August 2021, only 8% of children in rural areas and 25% of children in urban areas studied online regularly. Even those who were online found it difficult to follow the curriculum and had connectivity issues. As a result, the percentage of children who could read and perform calculations declined from pre-pandemic levels.
In March 2021, ASER conducted a study in 24 rural districts of Karnataka to estimate the learning loss and to understand the current status of learning. Nearly 18,000 children between the age group of 3 to 16 were assessed for their reading and arithmetic skills.
The SCHOOL survey covered nearly 1,400 underprivileged children in August this year across 15 States and UTs. The survey focused on children in rural hamlets and urban areas who generally attend govt. schools.

Many not in class

Only 28% of rural children studied regularly while 37% didn't study at all. Of those who were able to study, only 8% regularly attended online classes or learned through videos. In urban areas, the share of students who studied regularly was slightly better at 47% (though only 25% could study through online classes) while 19% of them did not study at all.
Educating children through television has not taken off despite regular educational broadcasts on television channels. Those who could afford private tuition studied more regularly.

Learning roadblocks

The major problems for children who didn't study online regularly were the lack of online material or the unavailability of a device. As many as 43% of parents in rural areas said no online material was sent by the school, while 36% said their children did not have their own smartphones. Among those children who studied online, the majority of them said that they faced connectivity issues and found online classes difficult to follow.
-Adapted from an article from The Hindu ‘Only 8% of children in rural areas studied online regularly in August’

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer below given question by choosing the correct option

Select the question that displays the cause-effect relationship.

[0.8 marks]

• A. Cause: Pandemic spreading rapidly across the country, Effect: Schools deciding to not hold online classes
• B. Cause: Schools were unable to hold physical classes; Effect: State governments distributed smartphones to all students to access learning
  
• C. Cause: The pandemic forced schools to close for safety, Effect: All students across the country chose to not study through the pandemic
• D. Cause: The pandemic forced schools to close for safety; Effect: Students across the country had severe learning loss

Answer 1

The correct option is D Cause: The pandemic forced schools to close for safety; Effect: Students across the country had severe learning loss

As a result of schools being closed and not holding physical classes for 1.5 years, many students had severe learning loss which made reading and solving basic calculations difficult for them.