COVID-19 causes unprecedented educational disruption: Is there a road towards a new normal?
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COVID‑19 causes unprecedented educational disruption: Is there a road towards a new normal? Hans d’Orville1
© UNESCO IBE 2020
Abstract COVID-19 confronts the education system with a new and massive crisis. What should a “new normal” look like for future generations? How can countries use the innovativeness of the recovery period to “build back better”? This Viewpoint highlights the UNESCO-led Global Coalition for Education initiative, which is seeking solutions to support learners and teachers, as well as governments throughout the recovery process, with a principal focus on inclusion, equity, and gender equality. The Viewpoint also argues that the current crisis is an opportunity for stronger international collaboration, which might provide a better focus and deliver solutions, including digital tools. Resilience and adaptability will be crucial for the next generations to navigate through the present—and any future—pandemic. Keywords Pandemic · Learning crisis · School closures · Digital learning tools · International cooperation Even before the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world was already confronting a “learning crisis” (UNESCO 2013; World Bank 2019); it was also off track to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which enjoins all countries to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education (UIS 2019). With the spread of the virus, the education system is now facing an entirely new and massive crisis. According to UNESCO (2020a), more than 87% of the world’s student population—over 1.5 billion learners in 165 countries—have been affected by the temporary closure of educational institutions. Not since World War II have so many countries around the world seen schools and educational institutions go into lockdown at around the same time and for the same reason. Extended school closures may not only cause loss of learning in the short term, but also diminish human capital and economic opportunities for children and youth over the * Hans d’Orville 1
Paris, France
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long term. Globally, school closures disproportionately hurt vulnerable and disadvantaged students who rely on schools for a range of social services, including health and nutrition. But their impact on education is likely to be most devastating in countries with already low learning outcomes, high dropout rates, and low resilience to shocks. Faced with that situation, UNESCO is launching a Global Education Coalition (UNESCO 2020b). The Coalition is a call for coordinated and innovative action, seeking solutions that will not only support learners and teachers but also governments throughout the recovery process, with a principal focus on inclusion, equity, and gender equality. It comprises multilateral organizations, including the International Labor Organization, the UN High Commission for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and the Internatio
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