Many students from financially deprived families, whose parents struggled to survive during the lockdown and after, have suffered “learning loss” in the past 11 months, heads of several NGOs who work with children said.

The students have been promoted but some of their academic standards have remained at the level of the earlier class, a teacher in an NGO said.

Teachers of some NGOs are having to counsel parents to send their children back to school. The challenge is to get them back to studies as some parents feel they are “better at home”.

The senior students have started going to school in small batches after a long gap, during which many of them could not be in regular touch with books or classes. Some of the children are now involved with household chores or parents have engaged them in odd jobs to earn some extra money.

Schools had been shut since March last year as a precaution against Covid.

“There has been a learning loss amongst students during this period. We did an assessment to gauge the loss despite the tele-calling classes and designed a curriculum that would not just look back but look forward to covering the loss,” said Manjusmita Bagchi, the associate director of Ek Tara.

There has been “an orientation and discipline loss”, said Arjun Dutta, the president of Calcutta Social Project.

Many of the children have lost the habit and routine of studying regularly like they would around 11 months back. Though organisations would send them work, the system has not been foolproof because the “digital divide” is huge.

“Not all children who were at home were motivated to study. Some thought they do not need to study since they are at home,” said Bijli Mallik, director, Institute of Psychological & Educational Research.

Organisations are planning remedial classes and extra lessons to help the children reach the level commensurate to their age and class.

The presence of fewer students in the class, because of physical distancing, is helping students get extra attention, said a teacher at an NGO.

It is not an “irretrievable loss” but it would take a few months to address the setback, some teachers said.

During the lockdown, the families of these students suffered huge financial losses. Some parents of first-generation learners pushed the children into marriage or work.

“We got information that they have started working and education has taken a backseat. We are having to talk to parents to convince them that the children have to continue studies,” said Tanmoy Patra, who runs Howrah Vivekananda Siksha Kendra in Bagnan.

Patra said the pandemic undid a lot of work that centres like theirs had done and in some cases, they have to start from scratch, including counselling parents to send their children to school.

Ek Tara is also counselling parents and encouraging mothers and fathers to come to the centre to discuss their problems.

“Counselling parents is taking our time and energy because parents are also under pressure to get the girls married off. We are calling the parents to the centre to try and make them realise what their children are missing and hear them out as well to help them get the right perspective,” said Bagchi of Ek Tara.