Less than 50 per cent of children are able to catch up with their age-appropriate learning following the COVID-19 pandemic and get distracted easily, a new survey on learning loss and education recovery has claimed.

Over 48,000 students participated in the survey by the Smile India foundation. It covered urban, rural and aspirational districts of 22 states. "According to teachers, less than 50 per cent of children have been able to cope with the learning loss over the last two years and are able to catch up on their age-appropriate learning currently," it said, according to a report by PTI. 

"These are mostly those students who have been regularly performing well prior to the pandemic as well. Hence, bringing the rest of the students to par with their expected learning level will require some time and effort in the upcoming months," the survey said, as per PTI. 

The survey also revealed that 58 per cent of teachers were of the opinion that children have missed out on social skills and now get distracted easily. "Their attention span has gone low," they said as per PTI.  

The survey noted that parents have started getting more involved in their wards' education as 47 per cent of them were of the view that there is an increased interaction between them and teachers in schools as well as over phone calls, it said. 

"Around 38 per cent of parents started interacting with teachers by visiting schools, and there is a 27 per cent increase in attendance in parent-teacher meetings (PTMs) and 50 per cent of parents interviewed felt the absence of digital learning resources like devices, networks and data packs made the learning experience inadequate for the children during the pandemic," the survey said, as per PTI.