Setting the Scene
When schools across the UAE closed in March 2020, the response was remarkable in its speed. Within days, curricula were moved online, teachers were delivering lessons through screens, and parents found themselves unexpectedly at the centre of their children's education. The UAE's Ministry of Education acted swiftly, and schools, both public and private, adapted with impressive efficiency. On the surface, learning continued.
But I was inside those homes. As a private tutor working with families across Al Ain and Dubai throughout the pandemic period, I had a view of distance learning that most policymakers and researchers did not. I saw what happened when the cameras turned off. I saw the children who sat in front of their screens for hours and retained almost nothing. I saw the anxiety, the disengagement, the slow erosion of confidence that came with months, and in some cases, years, of interrupted learning.
What I witnessed was not a smooth transition to an alternative model of education. It was, for many children, a significant step backwards. And the evidence, both global and regional, supports what I saw.
What the Research Tells Us
The global body of research on pandemic learning loss is now substantial, and consistently concerning. A landmark study by NWEA, tracking over two million students, found that by spring 2021, the typical student was significantly behind where they would normally be, and that learning gaps had barely recovered by 2022–23. Research published by the Brookings Institution found that maths proficiency fell by more than 17 percentage points for some grade cohorts between 2019 and 2021, a staggering decline for a single period.
of students in UAE research showed a decline or no progress in understanding of course material during distance learning (Ajman University, 2021)
drop in maths proficiency for some grade cohorts between 2019 and 2021, with learning gaps persisting well into 2023 (Brookings Institution)
of the global student population was affected by school closures or shifts to remote learning at the peak of the crisis in 2020 (United Nations)
Closer to home, research conducted in the UAE specifically, including studies from Ajman University and published analyses of UAE educator perspectives, found that while some students adapted well to the digital environment, more than half experienced a decline or no meaningful progress in their understanding of course material. UAE research also highlighted the cultural dimension: the importance placed on personal relationships and face-to-face communication in our region made the loss of in-person interaction particularly significant for children here.
What I Saw in the Homes
Statistics tell one story. But I want to tell another, because the numbers do not fully capture what I observed working with children and families throughout this period.
I worked with children who had been top of their class before the pandemic and were struggling to maintain focus for more than twenty minutes by the time schools reopened. I worked with children who had developed a deep anxiety around assessments, not because they lacked ability, but because the isolation of distance learning had stripped away the social scaffolding that underpins confidence in school environments. I worked with children who had fallen so far behind in foundational skills, particularly in reading and mathematics, that returning to the classroom felt not like a relief, but like an exposure of everything they had missed.
I also worked with families who were carrying enormous guilt. Parents who had done everything right, attended every online class alongside their children, engaged tutors, created structured routines at home, and still felt they had failed. They had not failed. The system had placed an impossible burden on families, and the most honest thing we can do as educators is acknowledge that.
The Hidden Casualties, Social and Emotional Development
Academic loss, as serious as it is, may not even be the most significant consequence of extended distance learning. Research into the psychological impact of remote schooling on children and adolescents, including a major multi-city study across the Gulf region, documented significant increases in anxiety, behavioural challenges, and symptoms consistent with ADHD in children who had undergone prolonged periods of remote education.
Children learn to be social beings in school. They learn to navigate disagreement, to manage failure in front of their peers, to read a room, to raise their hand even when they are not sure. None of that happens on a screen. And for younger children especially, those who were in the early primary years during the pandemic, the developmental consequences of missing those years of social learning are still playing out in classrooms across the UAE today.
As a primary educator, this is what concerns me most. The academic gaps can be closed with the right support. The social and emotional gaps are harder to measure, harder to name, and often go unaddressed entirely because they do not show up in test scores.
Where We Are Now, and What Families Can Do
It would be easy to leave this article here, at the problem. But that is not why I am writing it. I am writing it because I believe that with the right support, every child affected by distance learning can recover. I have seen it happen. I have been part of it happening.
The key is not simply "more tutoring." It is the right kind of support, personalised, consistent, and delivered by a professional who genuinely understands both the subject and the child. The pandemic revealed, more clearly than anything else could have, that children do not learn in the abstract. They learn in relationship. The most effective interventions I have witnessed have all had one thing in common: a trusted adult who showed up consistently, built a relationship, and met the child where they were, not where the curriculum said they should be.
If your child experienced distance learning during the pandemic, particularly in the primary years, here is what I would encourage you to consider:
Do not assume recovery is complete. Many children have surface-level gaps that are not visible until a specific concept is introduced that relies on a foundation they never properly built. An experienced tutor can identify these gaps quickly and address them before they compound.
Look beyond academics. If your child shows signs of anxiety around school, assessments, or social situations that were not present before the pandemic, take it seriously. Academic support and emotional support are not separate things, the best tutors address both.
Consistency matters more than intensity. One session per week with the right professional, maintained over time, will outperform intensive cramming every time. The relationship is the intervention.
A Final Thought
I founded Family Collective because I believe that every child deserves access to exceptional professionals, people whose knowledge, character, and commitment can genuinely make a difference. The pandemic made that need more urgent and more visible than ever before.
The children who sat in front of those screens in 2020 and 2021 are still in our classrooms. Some of them are thriving. Many are still catching up. All of them deserve our best efforts, not just the system's best efforts, but ours. The adults who choose to show up for them, consistently, and with genuine care.
That is what Family Collective is built to make possible.
Is Your Child Still Catching Up?
Family Collective can match your family with an experienced tutor who understands the post-pandemic learning landscape and knows how to meet your child where they are.