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Learning in times of lockdown: how Covid-19 is affecting education and food security in India

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  • Muzna Alvi

    (International Food Policy Research Institute, NASC Complex)

  • Manavi Gupta

    (International Food Policy Research Institute, NASC Complex)

Abstract

A vast majority of the relief and rehabilitation packages announced in the months following the nationwide lockdown in India have focused on economic rehabilitation. However, the education sector has remained absent from this effort, including in India’s central government’s 250 billion dollar stimulus package. In this paper, we discuss the implications of lockdown-induced school and rural child-care center closures on education and health outcomes for the urban and rural poor. We especially focus on food and nutritional security of children who depend on school feeding and supplementary nutrition programs. We argue that the impacts are likely to be much more severe for girls as well as for children from already disadvantaged ethnic and caste groups. We also discuss ways in which existing social security programs can be leveraged and strengthened to ameliorate these impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Muzna Alvi & Manavi Gupta, 2020. "Learning in times of lockdown: how Covid-19 is affecting education and food security in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 793-796, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:12:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s12571-020-01065-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-020-01065-4
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    6. World Food Programme, 2013. "State of School Feeding Worldwide 2013," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13536.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Biswas, Shreya & Das, Upasak, 2022. "Adding fuel to human capital: Exploring the educational effects of cooking fuel choice from rural India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    3. Cleopatra Oluseye Ibukun & Abayomi Ayinla Adebayo, 2021. "Household food security and the COVID‐19 pandemic in Nigeria," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(S1), pages 75-87, April.
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    5. Kalbarczyk, Anna & Aberman, Noora-Lisa & van Asperen, Bregje S.M. & Morgan, Rosemary & Bhutta, Zulfiqar & Carducci, Bianca & Heidkamp, Rebecca & Osendarp, Saskia & Kumar, Neha & Lartey, Anna & Malapit, 2022. "COVID-19, nutrition, and gender: An evidence-informed approach to gender-responsive policies and programs," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    6. Khan, Muhammad Jehangir & Ahmed, Junaid, 2021. "Child education in the time of pandemic: Learning loss and dropout," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. Thanh, Pham Tien & Tram, Nguyen Hoang Mai & Tung, Le Thanh, 2024. "Educational inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam: Implications for disadvantaged children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    8. Doua Ahmed & Pierina Benavente & Esperanza Diaz, 2023. "Food Insecurity among International Migrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(7), pages 1-14, March.
    9. Ruoyu Xiong & Huan Peng & Xi Chen & Chenyang Shuai, 2024. "Machine learning-enhanced evaluation of food security across 169 economies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 26971-27000, October.
    10. Servaas van der Berg & Chris van Wyk & Rebecca Selkirk, 2020. "Schools in the time of COVID-19: Possible implications for enrolment, repetition and dropout," Working Papers 20/2020, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    11. Mohammed Arshad Khan & Tuba Kamal & Asheref Illiyan & Mohd Asif, 2021. "School Students’ Perception and Challenges towards Online Classes during COVID-19 Pandemic in India: An Econometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-15, April.
    12. Saxena, Raka & Pant, Devesh Kumar & Pant, Satish Chandra & Singh, Reeta, 2023. "Mapping the Global Research Landscape: Bibliometric Analysis of Agri-food Systems and Nutritional Security," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), September.
    13. Teresa Rubio-Tomás & Maria Skouroliakou & Dimitrios Ntountaniotis, 2022. "Lockdown Due to COVID-19 and Its Consequences on Diet, Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Other Aspects of Daily Life Worldwide: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-41, June.
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