Giving Compass' Take:

• The nonprofit Dream a Dream, surveyed schools in Karnataka, to gauge the impact of COVID-19, and understand their concerns. Here are five significant requirements that these schools need during the pandemic. 

• How can a survey such as this one help direct donor efforts that support schools during COVID-19?

• Learn about the impact of COVID-19 on rural India. 

For more than two months now, all schools, colleges, and educational institutions in India have been shut, adversely impacting more than 32 crore students across the country. While some schools have shifted to online teaching, low-cost private and government schools do not have the resources to do so. Students, on the other hand, who are under social stress during the lockdown, are not only missing out on their education, but no longer have access to healthy meals and other resources that they had earlier.

A nonprofit, Dream a Dream, conducted a survey with schools in Karnataka, to gauge the impact of COVID-19 on them, and understand their concerns as well as the support they would require to get teaching and learning back on track. The survey was administered to a total of 853 school principals, heads of institutions, and teachers (of three types of schools in the state, as shown below). About 75 percent of the schools were located in rural areas and the rest were in urban areas.

Here are highlights from the report

There are five major areas in which schools from the survey have requested support:

  1. Ninety-five percent of the schools want to postpone board exams
  2. Ninety-two percent of the schools seek reduction of the syllabus for the new academic year
  3. Ninety-seven percent of the schools require digital support
  4. Eighty-nine percent of the schools need financial support
  5. Ninety-six percent of the schools require support to address students’ well-being and mental health concerns

Read the full article about school needs during the pandemic by Bhavya Pandey at India Development Review.