Adolescents Concerned about Education amid COVID-Induced Uncertainty

Indefinite school closures and postponed exams is a major source of anxiety and worry among school-going youths, finds a qualitative survey conducted among adolescents from urban slums and low-income settlements of Dhaka.

Respondents also reported that studying at home by themselves is far more challenging than studying at school with support from teachers, as they no longer have access to the much-needed guidance, instructions and notes from experienced instructors.

Findings from the research were presented at a Virtual Research Dissemination event titled ''Young people's voices during COVID-19: How the pandemic affected adolescents in urban slums and low-income settlements in Dhaka.''

The rapid qualitative study was jointly conducted by BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (BRAC JPGSPH), and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), under the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) program, funded by UK aid from the UK government. Conducted in two rounds, from April 2020 to June 2020 and again revisiting the same sample in October 2020 to November 2020, the study aimed to understand the impact of the pandemic and country-wide lockdown on the lived realities of adolescent boys and girls, living in slums and low-income settlements in Dhaka. 

The study also found that adolescents from these areas are at risk of falling behind in attaining educational outcomes due to lower access to the internet and mobile device. Moreover, there were significant differences among male and female adolescent respondents in how COVID-19 affected them, in terms of education, domestic burden, mobility and future risks and potentials. 

''This particular research has shed light on the "infodemic" of misinformation that is taking place due to the pandemic crisis. But a positive finding from this research is that adolescents, even from low-income settings, are at least aware of the coronavirus,'' reflected Rasheda K Chowdhury, Former Advisor to the Caretaker Government Government of Bangladesh and Honorary Executive Director, CAMPE, who was present as the Chair of the session. 

S M Latif, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Project Director, Accelerating Protection for Children (APC), outlined the different government initiatives around adolescent welfare, "For the 1st time in Bangladesh, we have started the National Adolescent Health Strategy which focuses on 4 key areas - adolescent sexual and reproductive health, violence against adolescents, adolescent nutrition, and mental health of adolescents."

''We need to ensure that there is a strong focus on remedial education to reduce the inequities that arose during the COVID-19 schooling crisis, using whatever resources and technologies that are available,'' recommended Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). 

Dr Sabina F Rashid, Dean and Professor, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, closed the session, ''These young adolescents are having to tackle the pandemic while facing a lack of interaction with peers, the realities of economic and financial burdens, and imagining an uncertain future, which has huge implications on their emotional and mental health.''

Findings from the research were presented by Maheen Sultan, Senior Fellow of Practice & Head, Gender and Social Transformation Cluster, BIGD and Farhana Alam, Assistant Director, Center of Excellence for Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (CGSRHR), BRAC JPGSPH. Workneh Yadete, GAGE Ethiopia Qualitative Research Lead & Research Uptake and Impact Coordinator and Dr Jennifer Seager, Assistant Professor, George Washington University were also present at the event.