关于COVID-19对教育的长期影响的政策简报：呼吁各方支持一致-英

KIXObservatoryonCOVID-19

ResponsesinAfrica'sEducationalSystemsPolicyBriefA

Call

for

Concerted

Support:September2023African

Countries

Need

to

Mitigate

theLong-Term

Impacts

of

COVID-19

on

EducationA

Callfor

Concerted

Support:

African

Countries

Need

to

MitigatetheLong-Term

Impactsof

COVID-19on

EducationKeypolicymessages•

Support

schoolre-entry

forallout-of-schoolchildren.•

Support

schoolcapacitytostrengthenguidance

andcounselling.•

Support

trainingof

teachers

touseinformation

andcommunicationtechnology(ICT).•

Support

schoolstoacquireinfrastructureforlearningcontinuity,

suchas

ICT

andwater,

sanitation,

andhygiene(WASH).•

Invest

ineducationdatasystemsandemergencypreparedness.The

issueIn

Africa,

close

to

300

million

learners

were

affected

by

COVID-19–related

school

closures,leading

to

massive

learning

setbacks.Though

all

countries

in

sub-Saharan

Africa

reopenedschools,

gaps

remain

with

regard

to

understanding

the

pandemic’s

long-term

impacts

andhow

educational

systems

in

Africa

can

mitigate

them.

Unfortunately,

many

low-incomecountries,

including

a

majority

of

countries

in

Africa,

cannot

afford

the

huge

investmentsassociated

with

building

resilience

and

reversing

some

of

the

impacts

of

COVID-19,

suchas

learningloss

and

anincreaseinout-of-schoolchildrenandyouth.It

is

against

this

background

that

the

KIX

Observatory

on

COVID-19

Responses

in

Africa’sEducational

Systems1

collected

perspectives

of

education

stakeholders

on

the

potentiallong-term

impacts

of

COVID-19

on

educational

systems

in

seven

sub-Saharan

Africacountries

of

Burkina

Faso,

Kenya,

Malawi,

Mali,

Mozambique,

Niger,

and

Nigeria.

Thefindings

of

the

project

were

documented

in

the

report

‘The

Long-Term

Impact

of

COVID-19on

Educational

Systems

in

Africa:

Perspective

of

Education

Stakeholders

from

sub-SaharanAfrica’.This

policy

brief

summarizes

key

findings

of

the

project.

It

is

intended

for

international

andnational

development

actors

who

support

education

research,

programming,

and

financingacross

Africa,

as

well

as

for

those

who

focus

on

generating

evidence

to

addresseducationalchallenges.1

/en/kix-observatory.Aninitiativebythe

GlobalPartnershipforEducation(GPE)undertheInternationalDevelopmentResearchCentre(IDRC).ItismanagedbytheAssociationfortheDevelopmentofEducationinAfrica(ADEA)inconsortiumwiththeAfricanUnion’sInternationalCentreforGirls’andWomen’sEducationinAfrica(AU/CIEFFA)withtechnicalsupportfromtheAfricanPopulationandHealthResearchCenter(APHRC)andUNESCOInstituteforStatistics(UIS).1/6It

provides

suggestions

fordonor

and

research

investments

intoareas

inwhich

the

selectedcountries

require

the

most

support

to

recover

from

the

pandemic

and

build

resilienteducationalsystems.According

to

stakeholders

across

the

seven

countries,

the

support

they

need

includeseffortstomitigatetheimpact

of

COVID-19inthreekey

areas:1.

Support

for

learners:

focuses

on

school

re-entry

programs

and

strengtheningguidanceandcounsellingin

schools,

withan

emphasis

on

vulnerablegroups.2.

Support

for

teachers:

aims

to

strengthen

their

capacities

to

implement

distance-learning

solutions,

including

material

development,

remote

delivery

of

instructions,anddigitalliteracy.3.

Support

for

school

systems:

focuses

on

infrastructural

development,

the

creationof

strong

education

data

systems

to

inform

decisions,

and

support

for

emergencypreparation.AcallforsupportSupportfor

learnersSchool

re-entry:Children

and

youth

from

marginalized

communities

should

not

be

excluded

from

education.Yet,

learners

from

low-income

households,

those

living

with

disabilities,

the

ones

in

IDPcamps

and

in

refugee

communities,and

thosewho

are

exposed

to

child

labour

are

more

atrisk

of

adverse

impacts

on

their

education

resulting

from

the

COVID-19

pandemic.Unfortunately,

after

schools

reopened

following

COVID-19–related

school

closures,

manyschoolchildren

and

youth,especially

adolescent

girls,did

notreturn

to

school.

Compared

tothe

pre-pandemic

era,girls

had

twice

the

risk

ofbecoming

pregnantbefore

completing

theirsecondary

school.If

leftunaddressed,this

phenomenon

islikely

to

culminateinan

increasein

out-of-school

children

and

youth

(OOSCY)

from

the

105

million

who

existed

pre-pandemic.Education

stakeholders

proposed

several

interventions

to

support

learners’

re-entry

intoschools,

as

highlighted

in

an

interview

with

the

education

stakeholder

from

Kenya,

whostated,“We

also

need

more

incentives

in

the

hostile

areas.

Of

course,

our

teachersget

a

hardship

allowance,

but

the

children

also

need

more

incentives.

If

wewould

make

those

schools

from

hostile

areas

boarding

schools,

then

wewould

retain

so

manyof

ourchildren.”2/6Therefore,

international

and

national

development

partners

should

work

withgovernments

to

support

the

school

re-entry

of

all

out-of-school

children

andyouth

(OOSCY).

This

can

be

done

through

programs

and

strategies

such

asschool

feeding

and

tuition

waivers,

including

informal

training

programs

tosupportskills

developmentforOOSCY.School

re-entry

and

retention

strategies

will

make

African

educational

systems

moreinclusive

and

help

meet

the

African

Union’s

Continental

Education

Strategy

for

Africa

2016-2025

strategic

objective

on

promoting

gender

parity

and

equity,

as

well

as

the

globalSustainableDevelopment

Goal4,

whichemphasizestheprincipleof“leavenoonebehind.”School

capacityfor

guidanceandcounselling:Goal

3

of

the

African

Union’s

Agenda

2063

promotes

healthy

and

well-nourished

citizens.Yet,pervasive

psychosocial

issues,

arising

from

tensions

in

the

home,financial

constraints,sexual

and

gender-based

violence,

loneliness,substance

abuse,

and

the

significant

loss

oflife

during

the

pandemic

heightened

anxiety

among

learners.

This

was

explicitly

evidencedfromeducationstakeholderperspectives

in

KenyaandNigeria.In

response,

stakeholders

proposed

several

interventions

towards

strengthening

capacity

inschools

to

support

learner

and

teacher

mental

health.

In

Kenya,

for

example,

stakeholdersilluminated

the

need

to

start

strengthening

guidance

and

counselling

programs

at

variouslevels,

includinginschools,

at

home,

andin

workplaces.Therefore,

development

partners

should

support

school

capacity

to

strengthenguidance

and

counselling.

Such

support

may

be

in

the

form

of

school-basedcapacity

strengthening

among

teachers

to

ensure

that

an

adequate

number

ofteachers

have

the

relevant

skills,

as

well

as

promoting

peer-to-peer

counsellingamong

learners.

This

should

go

hand

in

hand

with

mapping

the

locations

ofqualified

counsellors

to

link

them

to

the

demand

for

counselling

services

inschools.Such

action

is

likely

to

positively

affectvulnerable

children,

such

as

those

in

IDPcamps,

those

living

with

disabilities,

andthosefromlowsocioeconomic

households.

Itwill

close

gaps

regarding

access

to

qualityschooling,

implying

better

future

educationaloutcomes

forvulnerablechildrenandyouth.Photo:Masked-uppupilsadaptingtotheCOVID-19guidelinesthatrequiredsocialdistancing.3/6SupportforteachersInformation

and

communications

technology

(ICT)

skills

are

inevitable

for

instructionaldelivery,

especially

for

virtual

classrooms.

Unfortunately,

not

all

teachers

in

Africa

are

ICTliterate.

Furthermore,

the

design

of

online

teaching

and

learning

materials

differs

from

thatof

traditional

on-site

materials.

Education

stakeholders

from

Kenya

illuminated

the

criticalrole

of

ICT

in

learning

continuity

through

supporting

teaching

and

learning

as

well

asadministrative

tasks.

They

also

argued

in

favour

of

making

it

a

compulsory

subject

inteacher

trainingcollegesandprovidingschools

withICT

equipment.Globaltrendsemphasizeknowledge-drivensocialandeconomic

systems.Therefore,

support

is

needed

from

development

partners

in

training

teachers

touse

ICT

to

support

teaching

and

learning,

with

an

emphasis

on

vulnerablelearners.

One

way

to

achieve

this

is

to

make

ICT

a

core

course

in

teacher

pre-servicetraining

programs.

The

push

for

ICTliteracy

is

well-alignedtothe

AfricanUnion’s

Agenda

2063

(Goal

2),

which

aspires

to

produce

well-educated

citizensand

askillsrevolutionunderpinnedbyscience,

technology,

andinnovation.SupportforschoolsystemsAneducational

technology(EdTech)environment:Closely

related

to

teachers’

capacity

in

ICT

is

the

need

for

schoolchildren

to

access

equallearning

opportunities

regardless

of

their

circumstances,

such

as

geographical

location.Such

opportunities

include

access

to

ICT

infrastructure

and

classrooms

that

enhancelearningcontinuityduringemergenciesas

wellas

mitigatinglearningloss

andalleviatingthegrowing

digital

divide

for

Internet

access.

This

notwithstanding,

stakeholder

perspectivesshowed

that

the

majority

of

children

did

not

have

access

to

ICT

services

during

COVID-19school

closures

due

to

costs

and/or

access

to

ICT

infrastructure

or

digital

devicesassociatedwithconnectivity.

ICT

infrastructuregoes

handinhandwithpowersupply.WASHfacilities:Also,

water,

sanitation,

and

hygiene

(WASH)

facilities

improve

hygiene,

which

is

a

criticalfactor

for

children’s

well-being.

Available

classrooms

and

WASH

facilities

were

inadequatedue

to

limited

resources.

From

the

stakeholders’

perspectives,

low-cost

private

schoolsfound

WASH

facilities

expensive,

largely

because

of

the

schools’

meagre

incomes

andunreliable

revenue

sources.

Stakeholders

also

explained

that

countries

need

support

ininstitutionalizingWASHinschoolsinawaythat

is

sustainable.4/6Therefore,

private

investors

in

ICT

and

power

supply

infrastructure

and

EdTechinnovators,

working

closely

with

relevant

government

ministries,

should

expandeducation

technology

and

access

to

ICT

services

and

make

Internet

servicesmore

affordable.

Expansion

of

digital

technology

should

go

hand

in

hand

withcapacity

strengthening

among

teachers

and

students

to

ensure

maximumutilization.

Also,

the

importance

of

providing

appropriate

WASH

facilities

cannotbe

overemphasized.

This

call

for

support

from

international

and

nationalorganizations

aims

to

make

schools

more

successful

in

learning

continuityduring

crises.Ifthis

is

done,

schoolchildren

arelikelyto

experienceless

learningloss

in

times

of

crises.Datasystems:Quality

data,

particularly

in

terms

of

relevance

and

timeliness,

is

not

always

available.

However,data

and

data

systems

are

critical

ingredients

for

effective

planning,

including

for

futureemergency

responses.

Stakeholders

articulated

this

by

highlighting

the

challenges

experiencedin

data

management,

including

lack

of

capacity,

low

quality

of

data,

and

lack

of

data.Therefore,

research

institutions

such

as

APHRC

and

universities

in

Africa,

aswell

as

regional

policy

bodies

such

as

ADEA,

should

join

forces

with

decisionmakers

(policy

actors)

to

co-design

education

systems

that

provide

quality

dataand

co-generate

evidence

to

mitigate

the

long-term

impacts

of

COVID-19.

Suchcollaboration

should

also

include

research-

and/or

data-generation

funders

likeIDRCand

GPEandevidenceconsumerssuch

asministriesofeducation.This

willharnessthepowerof

evidence-informeddecisionmakingineducationpractice.Emergencypreparedness:Educational

systems

that

are

well

equipped

with

effective

strategies

and

ready

to

respondto

crises

enhance

learning

continuity.

However,

educational

systems

in

Africa

demonstrateunpreparedness

for

emergencies.

In

many

African

countries,

protocols

as

well

asemergency

budgetary

allocations

are

largely

absent.

Stakeholders

within

education

inAfrica

therefore

recommended

the

need

for

support

towards

planning

and

budgeting

toaddress

emergency

preparedness

gaps.

Stakeholders

feltthere

isa

need

for

preparednessonhowto

handleeducationwithinemergencies

like

apandemic.To

address

this,

development

partners,

such

as

World

Bank

and

GPE,

shouldfacilitate

emergency

preparedness

through

supporting

local

capacity

to

developpolicies

and

progranmes

at

both

macro

(government/ministry),

meso,

as

well

asmicro

(school)levelsformanaging

crises/emergenciessuch

asCOVID-19.5/6This

kind

of

support

enhances

educational

system

resilience,

including

cushioning

thesystemincaseof

emergencies.Resourcemobilization:Cushioning

vulnerable

populations

against

long-term

impacts

of

COVID-19

improves

theinclusivity

of

the

educational

systems.

Ring-fencing

budgets

for

education

progr