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Session Submission Summary

Improving education outcomes and mitigating shocks through an integrated literacy and school feeding program

Sun, February 19, 6:30 to 8:00pm EST (6:30 to 8:00pm EST), Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Independence Level (5B), Independence F

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Most education systems are still struggling to recover from the learning losses resulting from the COVID-19 crisis (UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank, 2021). Early grade students living in fragile contexts have been disproportionately affected by the combination of multiple shocks and the lack of resources to access and support remote learning. Many of those enrolled in early grades during 2020-21 continue to face challenges to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills, and their plight is aggravated by the global escalation of poverty and food insecurity rates. The 2022 State of Food Insecurity in the World Report estimates that the number of people facing hunger globally has increased by 150 million in relation to 2019 levels. Among low-income countries, 94 percent are facing high inflation (World Bank, 2022), reducing poor families’ ability to purchase food and support the costs of education. Inadequate food intake and insufficient dietary diversity for women of child-bearing age, adolescent girls, and children will negatively affect cognitive and physical development that will translate to an even greater erosion of the potential for positive learning outcomes among poor students. This will have a severe impact on children living in fragile contexts highly vulnerable to climate change and dependent on food imports. As the global crisis evolves, the access to a school feeding program in combination with remedial support for struggling students has become increasingly critical to prevent a ‘generational rupture’ in learning outcomes. Improving education outcomes will require systems to synchronize the provision of remedial learning and school feeding, while also strengthening teachers’ capacity and accountability to identify and support severely marginalized students.
Timor-Leste presents a unique case where a state-supported school feeding program is playing a crucial role in the recovery from the impact of COVID-19, climate change, and increased food insecurity on education. While access to education in Timor-Leste has expanded dramatically since the country’s independence, poor learning outcomes remain a challenge and improving literacy skills is a national priority. A study conducted in rural and remote areas of the country indicated that recurrent lockdowns had a severe impact on learning outcomes for grade 2 students, resulting in a decline of 45 percent in literacy scores in comparison areas and 31 percent among students supported by an integrated education and school feeding program (Consilient, 2021). Learning losses were also directly related to the combined impact of high food insecurity and climate change. The 2020 Timor-Leste Food and Nutrition Survey found that 47 percent of children under five years of age were stunted, while 32 percent were underweight. During the COVID-19 crisis, household dietary diversity scores declined from an already low 3.3 out of nine to 2.7 in the targeted rural areas, and 14 percent of households reported not eating at all for at least one day during the previous month (Consilient, 2021). On average, second grade students in rural and remote areas had a decline of eight percentage points in working memory scores during the COVID-19 crisis, with household hunger predicting lower scores (Consilient, 2021). As expected, lower dietary diversity and working memory scores also predicted lower literacy scores (Consilient, 2021).
Using data from a quasi-experimental study, this panel will reflect on the process of improving education outcomes and mitigating shocks for students in rural and remote areas of Timor-Leste as the country recovers from the COVID-19 crisis and continues to develop safety nets to support vulnerable families and schools. The panel will discuss the progressive refinement of remedial learning processes at school; community-based learning strategies to increase exposure time to literacy; and how the school feeding program has adapted to respond to soaring needs. The panel will present perspectives from the local government and development partners and will engage the audience in a dialogue about adapting practices in integrated school feeding programs to respond to the impact of the ongoing food security crisis on education.

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