Coronavirus

NGO launches project to call students at home and avoid dropouts

education dropout
Photo: Kleber Cordeiro/Shutterstock

Among the major fears of public education authorities and teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic is that the suspension of in-person classes will result in a higher dropout rate in schools. With more time away from face-to-face learning, the concern is that a significant number of pupils may avoid returning to school once their doors are reopened. 

In a bid to avoid this phenomenon, NGO Ensina Brasil — supported by the Lemann Foundation — developed the LigAção do Bem initiative, which involves teachers calling their students at home during the pandemic period, to stimulate learning and maintain pupil-professor contact, deemed crucial to avoid school dropouts.

The campaign aims to get all teachers in Brazil to make a 20-minute phone call to one of their students every day. By the NGO’s estimations, just 23 days could be enough to have all 40 million Brazilian public school students receiving a phone call from their teacher.

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