-
Covid could cost children £350bn in earnings due to lost learning, says IFS

Report says children repeating a year of school should be considered as part of radical catch-up efforts
Today’s children face losing £350bn in lifetime earnings unless the UK’s governments invest in radical catch-up efforts when the pandemic is over, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The IFS is urging policymakers to consider options including nearly nine million children repeating a year of schooling, the use of large-scale tuition in summer holidays and extended hours to make up for the classroom time lost during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Luke Sibieta, an IFS research fellow and author of the report, said the funding allocated to catch-up programmes by ministers in London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh totalled just £1.5bn, which he called “plainly inadequate”.
“The inescapable conclusion is that the lost schooling represents a gigantic long-term risk for future prosperity, the public finances, the future path of inequality and wellbeing,” Sibieta said.
But Sibieta cautioned: “Large as these figures are, they do not automatically imply that all schools should go back to normal straight away. It is perfectly possible that the health effects of the pandemic outweigh even these large costs when cases and deaths are high.”
By February’s half-term holiday, British children will have lost at least half a year of classroom time since March 2020.
Sibieta suggests that £30bn – equivalent to half a year’s UK spending on state schools – should be allocated to catch-up programmes designed with input from teachers and school leaders.
“The lack of urgency or national debate on how to address this problem is deeply worrying,” Sibieta said. “The risks of spending ‘too much’ time or resources on this issue are far smaller than the risks of spending too little and letting lower skills and wider inequalities take root for generations to come.”
The IFS estimates that such a substantial loss of learning is likely to be followed by lower skills and qualifications for children at school during the pandemic, resulting in permanently lower incomes during their careers.
According to the IFS, over 50 to 60 years the combined earnings loss would amount to £350bn, including a £100bn loss of government tax revenue.
Even if “by some miracle”, schools, teachers, children and parents were able to mitigate three-quarters of that effect, the loss of earnings would still total £90bn.
Kate Green, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “This report shows just how costly the prime minister’s failure to get a grip on this crisis could be for our children and our economy.
“We cannot wait until this pandemic is over to start tackling the impact on children’s education. Ministers must urgently ensure every child has the equipment needed to learn from home now and set out how it intends to address this catastrophic impact on children and the country long term.”
A government spokesperson said: “The prime minister was clear last week that extended schools closures have had a huge impact on pupils learning, which will take more than a year to make up.
“The government will work with parents, teachers and schools
In England the government’s plan includes £350m for a national tutoring programme aimed at disadvantaged children, unveiled by Boris Johnson last year.
Simon Burgess, an economics professor at the University of Bristol, said: “This briefing paper supports the case that I have been making for months that a huge effort is needed to rebuild the lost skills of today’s young people. I think a ten-fold expansion of the national tutoring programme is the best bet but other options should surely be considered.”
Burgess and his colleagues last year calculated that “from the mid-2030s and for the following 50 years, about a quarter of the labour force will have lower skills, implying a 50-year period of lower growth” for the UK, along with a widening of inequality.
The calculations come after the National Foundation for Education Research last week published the first credible evidence of learning loss in spring last year, with pupils in England aged six and seven losing the equivalent of two months of progress in reading and maths by autumn 2020.
Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, said: “Any plausible reading of the evidence suggests that the long-term costs are likely to be very large indeed, and that it follows that spending a lot of money and policy effort to reduce or mitigate them is likely to be very good value for money.”
James Turner, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, which promotes social mobility through education, said: “The IFS is absolutely right to call for substantially more education funding to address the major issues coming out of this crisis. But it is absolutely crucial that this is targeted towards disadvantaged pupils who have been the worst hit by the pandemic.”
source: Richard Adams
Levant
You May Also Like
Popular Posts
Caricature
BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
opinion
Report
ads
Newsletter
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!