According to data released on Saturday, education levels in Latin America have fallen two years during the pandemic as students’ average knowledge went from third first to grade.

With the resumption of face-to-face classes, the challenge is now focused on recovering students’ learning skills and knowledge to avoid their frustration in studies and low preparation when they enter the labor market, said Daniela Rosales, manager of the teaching company Kumon Mexico.

According to World Bank estimates, Rosales recalled that the pandemic caused in all Latin American countries a lag equivalent to two and a half years of schooling.

The countries with the most significant delay in schooling are Panama with 4.7 years of education, Guatemala and Honduras with 4.8, and Haiti with five years of education.

Rosales stressed that to reverse the school delay, an educational response with extracurricular classes that strengthen learning skills is essential to give students the appropriate tools to improve their future professionally.

Kumon reopened its centers in Mexico and Central America for face-to-face classes after a year and a half of implementing a hybrid system due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, the non-formal schools of Kumon maintain three types of modalities: face-to-face, distance, and hybrid classes.