Indonesia's Students' Knowledge Equivalent to Only 7 Years of Schooling Due to Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused Indonesian students to experience learning losses due to school closures implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus. According to the 2020 Human Capital Index, an Indonesian child is expected to complete 12.4 years of schooling, but the knowledge acquired is equivalent to only 7.8 years of learning.

This indicator is referred to as learning adjustment years of schooling (LAYS). Afkar and Yarrow, in a December 2021 World Bank report, estimated that school closures until the end of June 2021 reduced LAYS to 6.9 years. This estimate assumes a 40 percent effectiveness of distance learning.

LAYS could decrease further to 6.7 years assuming a 20% effectiveness of distance learning. Furthermore, LAYS would be 6.6 years assuming a 10% effectiveness of distance learning.

The PISA reading score, which measures the reading ability of 15-year-old children, is estimated to have dropped from 371 to 346.

Patrinos and Donnelly (2021) found that primary school students are more vulnerable to learning loss than secondary school students. This is due to their inability to independently seek learning opportunities because of developmental and cognitive differences.