Page 389 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed society, exacerbating

economic and social inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic was not only a

health crisis, but also an educational crisis, as 1.5 billion children did not have
access to proper common schooling (The World Bank, 2020). Attempting to

stop its spread, governments worldwide suspended face-to-face teaching in
schools; it affected around 95% of the world’s student population and caused

the biggest disruption to education in history (United Nations, 2020).

The students in Sri Lanka experienced school closure not only due to COVID-

19, but also due to the Easter attacks, teachers’ strikes, and the economic crisis.

According to survey results, children had spent much less time studying during
the lockdown (Andrew et al., 2020; Bansak & Starr, 2021).

The World Bank Report (2022) emphasises that without immediate
intervention, a Grade Three student who has missed one year of school due to

the pandemic might eventually lose up to three years' worth of knowledge. It

also states that the learning volume lost due to the crisis will have a high
economic cost. According to a recent estimate, today's pupils would lose $17

trillion of lifetime earnings, if immediate corrective actions are not taken
(UNESCO, 2021). Engzell et al. (2021) state that the most common causes of

learning loss are lengthy gaps or discontinuities in a student's education.

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