New data on education during COVID-19 provides evidence to support reopening schools for all children

SKOPJE, 7 June 2021.  New research published today by Ministry of Education and Science, Bureau for Development of Education, UNICEF, British Embassy in Skopje and partner Reactor – Research in action highlights that children who attended school in person during the 2020/2021 school year experienced less difficulties despite shorter instruction time, and that they were able to follow COVID19 safety protocols. These findings together with other data on the “Experience and Attitudes towards Distance Learning introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic” highlights the importance of preparing to reopen schools for all children in September.

The new data show that 88 per cent of teachers report that students were able to follow the protocols and protection measures, and more than half of parents report that their children did not face any difficulties when being back in school. Furthermore, parents of children who physically attended school were significantly more satisfied with the work of the teachers and the work of the school in general.

The Minister of Education and Science Mila Carovska said that like all countries in the world, the country also faced the challenge of rapid reorganisation of teaching during a pandemic.

"It was not easy, but the teachers, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Bureau for Development of Education, local governments, principals, parents and students made every effort to have a successful school year, which is confirmed by the research itself - the satisfaction from the realisation of distance learning this school year, compared to the second semester of last year has increased for both teachers and parents and students. The fact that 100% of students, when asked if distance learning in their school was on schedule, answered positive, shows that we have achieved the basic goal - despite the circumstances, teaching to take place regularly. We will use the results of the research to build an educational system, which is ready to easily reorganise the teaching, according to the imposed conditions", pointed out Carovska.

“This data underlines the important need to prioritize reopening schools for all children and dedicated efforts to do so safely. While distance learning has contributed to building new skills, and the new digital platforms and digital tools have opened new opportunities to improve quality education, distance learning should not replace in-person schooling. It should complement it. School closures have devastating consequences for children’s learning and wellbeing with the most marginalized paying the heaviest price,” said Patrizia Di Giovanni, UNICEF Representative. “We cannot afford another year of disrupted education. All efforts need to be made to reopen schools for all children including efforts to remedy any learning gaps left by distance learning and renewed support for children’s emotional wellbeing.”

The Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Skopje, Rachel Galloway said, “more than a year on since the education process moved online, it is time to assess what worked, what were the challenges, for teachers, for students and parents and how we can use the lessons learned to create better learning environment.”

The findings of the two-phase research on “Experience and Attitudes towards Distance Learning introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic” highlights that:

1. More than half of the surveyed teachers and parents, worried about children being exposed to COVID19 while in school  but also report satisfaction of the efforts of the schools and staff to keep children safe.
2. Sixty-eight per cent of teachers assess in-person teaching quality as good or excellent and seventy-eight per cent report that they were able to meet the goals of curricula while in school despite the shorter instruction time.
3. Parents of children who continued education through distance learning highlight a bottleneck in the provision of support services (psychologist, pedagogue, etc.). Over 70 per cent reported that their children never received any support, motivation or resources for dealing with stress and/or social isolation. Even more, over 90 per cent of parents said that they were never contacted by support services to check if there is a need for such support.
4. While all respondents saw an improvement in distance learning during the 2020/2021 compared to the previous year, a significant number of teachers still report that they were not able to contact some of their students at a certain point in the school year. This number has reduced to 63 per cent compared to the 77 per cent in the previous school year.
5. Data also clearly shows the effects of burnout among teachers. The majority of teachers – 88 per cent - report that they have had to work in their free time just to catch up with the basic requirements. According to school principals, teachers who held in-person classes often had to work double shifts to ensure that the group/class sizes meet the criteria.
6. Targeted interviews with parents of students with disabilities show improvements in provision of educational assistance as well as accommodations and approval for physically attending school. However, parents of economically deprived communities, specifically Roma, faced significant difficulties in access to education. Transport to and from school was often suspended and their children received only “offline” materials and no means to access online platforms and content.
7. Distance learning has evolved to be more interactive and structured. Teachers, parents and students all report that schedules were clearly defined and met, and teaching was more direct and less focused on mere sending of educational content. However, challenges in conducting assessment remain.

"The plan and protocols for reopening schools have shown good results and schools were able to implement them while retaining quality in the teaching process and ensuring safety of the students and staff,” said Zeqirija Hasipi, Director of the Bureau for Development of Education. “There are areas for improvement and here I would like to point out the need for improvement in skills among teachers, the strengthening of the support services in schools, and finally the need for diagnostic assessment and remedial teaching, Over the summer the BDE will work on solutions and make amendments for the next school year.”

The new research provides additional insights to support the Government in planning for reopening schools. It complements an analysis presented by UNICEF and partners last week on the social and economic effects of COVID-19 on children in North Macedonia which showed that the national distance learning platform contributed to the systematization and unification of the educational process for students attending classes online, however, the problem of access to education persists, especially for vulnerable groups, such as children at risk of poverty, Roma children and children with disabilities.

The survey on “Experience and Attitudes towards Distance Learning introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic” collects experiences and attitudes during the 2020/2021 school year from some 15,000 respondents and compares to data collected during the 2019/2020 school year. The findings are based on online surveys and targeted interviews and focus groups during the period June and December 2020. The researched was commissioned by the Ministry Education and Science, Bureau for Development of Education and UNICEF with financial support from the UK government and implemented by Reactor- Research in Action. The full report with additional data sets for further use by researchers will be available in the coming weeks.  

Data sets and instruments

We advise the users of the data sets to review the structure of the questionnaires in order to take into account the logic and flow behind the questions. In interpreting the findings, users are encouraged to take into account the limitations for generalization possibilities arising from the method of sample selection described in (presentation link).

Click here to download the data sets and instruments

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