Keeping Learning Alive for Vulnerable Children


According to the UNESCO Global Education Coalition, more than 180 countries have closed schools in an effort to contain the spread of the 2020 coronavirus global pandemic (COVID-19). This has interrupted the learning of over 91% of the world’s student population or some 1.5 billion learners.
 
There is growing consensus that the pandemic hits vulnerable communities worldwide the hardest, bringing economic and social disparities into sharper focus. In Singapore, as schools move to full home-based learning and after-school support centres close, the digital divide has become more apparent. While necessary for public health and safety, these measures impact underprivileged students disproportionately. Some may lack parental guidance or supervision, have poorer access to supplementary educational resources or support, as well as unequal technology access for distance learning. Over an extended period, the risk of these students falling behind their peers increases.
 
We are excited to be part of a collective effort to mobilise our respective resources and networks to provide timely digital connectivity to the most vulnerable primary school children in our midst. This is so that they can continue learning even as they ride out the pandemic from the safety of their homes.
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As Singapore battled COVID-19 with heightened safe distancing measures, Quantedge Foundation disbursed emergency grants to support urgent, equitable access to home-based learning for primary school children from under-privileged backgrounds.
Our emergency grants have catalysed a multi-stakeholder collective effort coordinated by an education social enterprise, Viva Kids, to keep learning alive for vulnerable children in Singapore. Nearly 500 underprivileged primary school students on the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme across 12 school and community sites will receive personal learning tablet devices, as well as free mobile data connectivity for 6-8 months. This boost in last-mile digital connectivity will enable these students to keep up with their peers in the online home-based learning lessons assigned by their respective schools.
In addition, Viva Kids has adapted its KidsExcel after-school programme to make its various academic resources available online for these students to reinforce their learning as they stay home:

  • Differentiated worksheets and teaching videos will be hosted online to facilitate self-learning and revision;
  • Live lessons and guided supervision will be delivered via virtual classroom tools to provide tailored guidance and support;
  • Online diagnostic assessments to track each student’s learning progress; and
  • Online homework help-desk for upper primary school students undergoing high-stakes exams (in the pipeline).
 
Beyond the current COVID-19 situation, this effort to close the last mile ICT gap for underprivileged students is aligned with the national digital literacy initiative in Singapore to equip all Singaporean students with personal learning devices to enhance their learning experiences.
Outcomes: 
  • Uninterrupted learning during the crisis and on home-based learning days post-crisis
  • Continued engagement and learning support for students, especially for those taking their milestone examinations
  • Equitable access to free online educational resources, especially in the event of a lock-down​ ​
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