Enhancing e-learning and blended learning promotes literacy and quality learning outcomes

This year, the International Literacy Day (8 September) is being celebrated across the world under the theme "Literacy for a human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide". The unprecedented learning disruption, affecting hundreds of millions of children and youth over the world is a reminder of the critical importance of literacy. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid shift to online learning environment has made evidence of the potential of digital learning - but it has also highlighted the digital divide.

According to 2013 data, illiteracy rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 2,82 per cent and this trend is in constant decrease, compared to 38,7 per cent of digitally illiterate population under the age of 10[1]. It is expected that the positive trends in reducing number of illiterate persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue. On the other hand, based on PISA 2018 findings, the minimum level of functional literacy is not attained by 58 per cent of students in mathematics, 57 per cent in science and 54 per cent in reading. A negligible percentage of students were assessed as top performers in these subjects. Further, PISA 2018 evidence showed that 15-year old students in BiH are on average about three school years behind their peers in OECD countries.

There is an evident gap between functionally and digitally literate population in the country, which could potentially be deepened by COVID-19 pandemic consequences to education sector. Since the pandemic outbreak, approximately 500,000 children and youth have been affected by country-wide closures of all education institutions from March 2020.

Learning loss, caused by COVID-19, disproportionately affected the most vulnerable children and youth[1] across the country. In march 2020, the BiH education authorities estimated that the lack of continuum of learning affected over 9,700 children in primary and secondary schools[2], as well as 523 primary and secondary school teachers (including VET) who did not have access to ICT[3].

In response to the fallouts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, three UN agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNESCO, UNICEF and ILO, with support of UN Volunteers joined efforts to support the education authorities to address learning inequalities, while focusing on the most marginalized through implementation of a human-centered and gender responsive project "Re-imagining Education for Marginalized Girls and Boys during and post COVID-19 in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

The main objective is to support public sector education in the 3 selected education administrative units (Republika Srpska entity, West-Herzegovina Canton and Una-Sana Canton) while focusing on improvement of quality e-learning and blended learning practices, enabling learning continuity, as well as strengthening teachers' digital skills and competences in a view to tackle learning losses, prevent dropouts and ensure inclusive and quality education for all.

"…this crisis, however, is also an opportunity to re-think and reimagine education practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina…Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, are a basis for advancing reform, applying innovation and developing blended learning to ensure the resilience of the education sector", stated dr. Ingrid Macdonald, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the occasion of the project launch in March 2021.

At global level, studies indicate that COVID-19 could provoke a generational catastrophe, putting at risk of deteriorating previously made learning progresses. Bosnia and Herzegovina has faced this detrimental trend even before the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 showed that in BiH over 50 per cent of children are not achieving the minimum level of functional literacy in language, science and mathematics. There are estimates that this percentage may further increase as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis.

The rapid shift to distance learning also highlighted the persistent digital divide in terms of connectivity, infrastructure, and the digital skills of teachers/trainers for e-learning and blended learning.

In that regard, UNICEF, UNESCO and ILO support conducting the Assessment of quality of e-learning delivery of primary, secondary (including Technical and Vocational) and higher education, and the Assessment of professional development needs of teachers. The aim of this activity is to assist all education authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at all education levels in better-informed decision-making, as well as in quality planning of digital competency development of teachers for quality inclusive e-learning and blended learning, which would at the end increase functional literacy of all pupils. Increasing digital competencies should go together with enhancement of functional literacy, and these two processes should not be developed as parallel, but fully complementary.

To this end, on 02 September 2021, the installation of Information Management System in Una-Sana Canton, funded by 'Re-imagining Education in BiH' project, was officially launched. The main objective is to support the digitalization of the education process in Una-Sana Canton, through quality data management, while building a more resilient system which can prevent, mitigate impacts and respond quickly to emergencies, particularly when addressing the needs of the most vulnerable students.

"With this project, we would like to assist education government authorities in Una-Sana Canton to be better prepared for future challenges that could potentially affect the education sector. At the same time we are pleased that establishment and implementation of new IM system will support the Ministry to increase quality of the both programmatic and administrative management of education system in Una-Sana Canton. Moreover, the integration of Office 365 and Teams platform in this IM system will enhance delivery of e-learning and blended learning during and beyond COVID-19 pandemic", stressed Sinisa Šešum, Head of UNESCO Antenna in Sarajevo of the Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe.

UN agencies within the 'Re-imagining Education' project remain committed to support education authorities, teaching professionals and students at all education levels in attaining quality learning outcomes, while applying one of the main principles of Agenda 2030 of leaving nobody behind.

[1] The Economic and Social Impact of COVID-19- Education, World Bank Group, Spring 2020

[2] Rapid Needs Assessment- Education, UNICEF BiH, March 2020

[3] Rapid Needs Assessment-Educatio-Phase II, UNICEF-UNESCO BiH, August 2020

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