On 9 December, the National Education Programme (Nationaal Programma Onderwijs, NPO) organized its final meeting ‘Blijf bij de les!’ in Fokker Terminal in Den Haag. NPO is an initiative by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its main goal is to help students and educational institutions recover from learning delays and address well-being issues caused by the crisis. 

During the final meeting, dr. Anja Schreijer, medical director of the PDPC, was invited to share insights from the PRESENT project, which investigates the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anja highlighted three key findings of the project:

• Researchers found that the impact of school closures varies across students: especially first-generation non-Western students experienced persistent and sometimes increasing learning delays, and the educational level of parents turns out to be one of the strongest predictors of these differences.This knowledge can be used to purposefully and effectively promote equity during future crises.
• Online/hybrid education was experienced by most students as ineffective. For example, many students were affected by a loss of structure in their daily lives, leading to difficulties with concentration and motivation. Students also suffered from  knowledge gaps, loss of social contacts and delayed personal development. Teachers report lasting effects on motivation, group dynamics, and social development, even years after schools reopened. From this, researchers formulated several recommendations, such as that closing schools should be regarded only as a last resort; schools must be (made) prepared with a crisis plan (including digital skills for teachers); and schools should play a role in facilitating social interaction between teachers and students and among students themselves.
• Researchers from the PRESENT project are also developing a model to map school-related virus transmission. This model can assess the impact of school closures on virus spread and thereby help determine whether the disruption is justified. Together with other knowledge obtained in the PRESENT project, the model will help us in making informed, evidence-based decisions in future crises.

During the final part of the program, Anja was interviewed by Eveline van Rijswijk in ‘Herfstgasten’, an on-stage version of the famous Dutch program ‘Zomergasten’, where she explained her drive to become a doctor of infectious diseases control. “As a public health physician, society is your ‘patient’: through knowledge and action, you aim to make a societal impact and contribute to preventing disease, rather than curing it.” Her perspective reflects the broader goal of the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center: translating medical knowledge into actions that safeguard public health and prepare for future crises.

Pictures by Bart Maat.