Hypothetical scenario · estimate
Scenario: one remote school day a week
One day a week students learn from home online, and the other days stay in person as they are.
6.7 millionstudents covered
483.7 millionschool trips (to and from) avoided per year
513 thousandteachers covered
Possible gains
- Fewer school trips: one day in five is about a fifth of the round trips, which eases traffic at school times.
- Parents: a day without a school run gives a longer morning. We found no study measuring one remote day, so this is arithmetic, not a measurement.
Possible costs
- A review of 42 studies found lower learning during the pandemic. Those were long closures, not one day a week, so the effect of one day is unknown.[1][3]
- In studies from other countries on school closures in 2020–2021, children from lower-income families lost more learning.[1][2]
- Parents: in the US, parents' work hours fell when schools closed, and mothers' employment dropped; this was a full closure, not one day.[5][6]
- In the US, a four-day school week was linked to small drops in reading and maths; it cuts school days rather than moving them online.[4]
The balance (estimate)
Clearest gainers: families with fewer daily school trips, and road users at school-run times.
Clearest costs fall on: Clearest bearers of cost: students from lower-income families, and mothers and fathers who work that day.
Strength of evidence: low — There is no direct Saudi measurement of one remote school day a week; published studies cover longer closures or a shorter school week.