The COVID-19 Pandemic: Shocks to Education and Policy Responses

  • R Research Project/Report/Study

I Inactive

Key Information

The World Bank brief outlines how COVID-19 has disrupted education systems globally, exacerbating learning poverty, increasing dropout risks, and deepening pre-existing inequalities—especially for girls, low-income learners, children with disabilities, and those without access to remote learning. School closures have reduced access not only to academic instruction but also to school-based services such as meals, protection, and psychosocial support. The report emphasizes the risk of long-term human capital losses if urgent mitigation measures are not implemented. Programmatically, the document calls for immediate and coordinated action to ensure learning continuity and safe school reopening.

Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Global

Activity URL

https://www.eccnetwork.net/resources/covid-19-pandemic-shocks-education-and-policy-responses

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2020 - 2020

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Not applicable or unknown

COVID-19 Response

New for COVID-19

Geographic Scope

Global / regional

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment
  • Primary completion
  • Primary enrollment
  • Primary to secondary transition
  • Secondary completion
  • Secondary Enrollment
Other
  • Remote Learning

Cross-cutting areas

  • COVID-19 Response
  • Digital literacy
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Emergencies and protracted crises

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Boys (both in school and out of school), Girls (both in school and out of school), Policymakers, Youth

Age

5 - 18

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

Not applicable or unknown

Participants include

Not applicable or unknown

Program Approaches Back to Top

Access to school
  • Alternative learning centers/mobile schools/home schools
Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization
  • Community-based monitoring (e.g. school report cards)
  • Community mobilization
  • School management committees
Curriculum/learning
  • Increased availability of learning materials
Educational Technology
  • Digital devices for the purposes of studying, learning
  • Digital learning materials/programs
  • Digital reading materials (non-textbook)
  • Digital skills/literacy (including coding)
Increased availability of learning materials
  • Textbooks (digital)
Other
  • Informational interventions (e.g. returns to education)
Policy/legal environment
  • Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
Reducing economic barriers
  • Addressing cost of school supplies
  • Conditional cash transfers (including non-cash goods) to individuals/households
  • Conditional cash transfers to schools
  • Reducing/eliminating school fees
  • Unconditional cash transfers (including non-cash goods) to individuals/households
  • Unconditional cash transfers to schools
  • Vouchers/grants
Social/gender norms change
  • Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Media campaigns
Teaching
  • Teaching materials (e.g. lesson plans, curricula)
Tutoring/strengthening academic skills
  • Literacy - in the classroom
  • Literacy - outside the classroom
  • Numeracy - in the classroom
  • Numeracy - outside the classroom
  • STEM - in the classroom
  • STEM - outside the classroom

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Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved academic skills (literacy and numeracy)
  • Increased school completion (general)
  • Increased school enrolment (general)
  • Reduced absenteeism
  • Reduced grade repetition

Cross-cutting goals

  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms