Closing the COVID-19 Learning Gap

Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education worldwide, Belize’s Ministry of Education has taken a step to address the learning gaps that emerged during that time. All Saints Anglican Primary School in Belize City officially became a Doodle Learning school, receiving a donation of Chromebooks to fully implement the program. Designed to enhance students’ Math and English skills, the initiative marks an important stride in improving foundational learning post-pandemic.

Early primary education lays the groundwork for academic success, as children develop critical reading and comprehension skills during these years. However, the transition to online learning in 2020 due to the pandemic significantly affected students’ academic progress. Principal of All Saints Anglican, Collin Estrada, emphasised the impact: “During COVID, we lost some time even though we had online classes. And when we had done even our own internal assessments, we know that some students are behind. This program will aid in terms of being able to fill the gaps that are there so that our students will be able to be at level.”

The tablets, equipped with targeted lessons in Math and English, will initially benefit standard four students, with plans for current standard three students to use them in the following year. The program’s license ensures continuity for a year, offering students a structured way to catch up on critical areas of learning.

Minister of Education Francis Fonseca noted that students aged ten to twelve were among the most affected by the pandemic: “It also highlighted that in these foundational areas of math and language, reading, spelling, timetable—those things were specific areas that were weak. And those are obviously foundational subjects. So we had to come up with a plan to target that, and this is a part of that response.”

The Doodle Learning initiative is part of a broader response funded by the International Development Bank. It will extend to 6,000 students across seventy government and grant-aided schools over the next three years.