School reopening and learning loss: 230 million children face the worst education crisis imaginable

In a 35-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, speaks in detail about three things:

1. the nature of the problem, i.e. he describes it fully;
2. whose responsibility it is to take steps to tackle this crisis;
3. the strategy that needs to be adopted to handle this crisis.

He spells the strategy out in considerable detail. This interview offers context to both the nature of the crisis and the quality of the response.

Behar describes the situation as a ​“once in a century” crisis affecting over 230 million children. The core issue is twofold: severe learning loss and forgetting prior learning. Children returning after a 16-to-18-month gap missed entire foundational academic years — such as moving from Grade IV to VI without completing Grade V. Furthermore, loss of foundational literacy and numeracy means millions cannot read simple texts or perform basic arithmetic appropriate for their age. Treating school reopening as ​“business as usual” risks permanently alienating a generation of learners. 

While teachers are acutely aware of the ground reality, Behar stresses that individual teachers cannot solve a structural collapse alone. The primary responsibility rests firmly with state governments and the central education ministry. Policy makers must acknowledge the sheer scale of the crisis, set aside rigid annual syllabus expectations, and provide schools with explicit administrative directives, resources, and institutional flexibility.

To address the loss effectively, the multi-step recovery strategy suggested is as follows:

• Curriculum consolidation: Compress and reorganise curricula to focus strictly on foundational abilities rather than rushing through standard grade-level textbooks.
• Dedicated remediation period: Devote the first 3 to 6 months (or up to an entire academic year) purely to catch-up on learning and foundational skills recovery before moving into new syllabus material.
• Teacher support and orientation: Empower teachers with specific pedagogical toolkits, diagnostic assessments, and training geared toward multi-grade remediation rather than routine compliance.
• Systemic alignment: Align state-wide examination standards and monitoring mechanisms to evaluate progress based on actual learning recovery rather than completion of prescribed units.

Behar warns that unless governments commit to a structured, long-term approach, India risks failing its children twice — with consequences lasting a lifetime.