Summary
As countries around the world rapidly respond to the educational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic many countries have begun to leverage technology to provide educational continuity. We at the EdTech Hub are working with many countries to help them design interventions to support learning during this crisis. The first question we are asked by our counterparts in these countries is: How can we design an effective COVID-19 education sector response plan?
When designed effectively, COVID-19 education sector response plans have the power to align efforts among key stakeholders within a national education system to ensure continuity of learning, especially for the most vulnerable. They also have the power to re-orient an education system to address gaps and ensure more resilient education services post-COVID. Conversely, a poorly designed plan can lead to confusion amongst stakeholders, create additional stress for teachers and parents, and can place lives at risk.
We evaluated 13 COVID-19 response plans from low and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia (the full plans are available at the end of this blog). We selected plans from countries with both geographic and income diversity.