2 policy brief: education during covid-19 and beyond executive summary

11%
29%
+18%
FIGURE 2: NUMBER OF CHILDREN AFFECTED
BY SCHOOL CLOSURES GLOBALLY
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0
175
350
525
700
875
1,050
1,225
1,400
1,575
1,750
16
-F
eb
02
-Mar
17
-Mar
01
-A
pr
16
-A
pr
01
-M
ay
16
-M
ay
31
-M
ay
15
-J
un
30
-Ju
n
15
-J
ul
Pe
rc
en
ta
ge
o
f l
ea
rn
er
s a
ffe
cted
N
um
be
r o
f l
ea
rn
er
s a
ff
ec
te
d 
(m
ill
io
ns
)
Date
Total share of learners
affected by national closures
Low and lower-middle
income countries
Upper-middle and high
income countries
Reopened schools
Localized closures
National closures
Source: UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report (2020). New realities for education affected by COVID Cost predictions.
Source: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse and authors’ calculations.

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POLICY BRIEF: EDUCATION DURING COVID-19 AND BEYOND  7
In Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, 
nationwide school closures due to COVID-19 
came at a time when a very large number of 
schools had already been closed for several 
months because of severe insecurity, strikes, 
or climatic hazards. COVID-19 is worsening the 
situation of education in Sub-Saharan Africa 
where, prior to the pandemic, 47 per cent of the 
world’s 258 million out-of-school children live 
(30 per cent due to conflict and emergency).
8
In the most fragile education systems, this 
interruption of the school year will have a dis-
proportionately negative impact on the most 
vulnerable pupils, those for whom the con-
ditions for ensuring continuity of learning at 
home are limited. Their presence at home can 
also complicate the economic situation of par-
ents, who must find solutions to provide care 
or compensate for the loss of school meals. 
There is growing concern that if these learners 
are not properly supported, they may never 
return to school.