Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education

Country-wide closures

Country-wide school closures by country/territory

Countries and territories	Number of learners enrolled from pre-primary to upper-secondary education	Number of learners enrolled in tertiary education programmes	Additional information	Ref
Afghanistan	9,608,795	370,610		[23]
Albania	520,759	131,833	Schools were closed for two weeks.	[23][84][85]
Algeria	9,492,542	743,640		[23]
Argentina	11,061,186	3,140,963		[23][86]
Armenia	437,612	102,891		[23]
Austriag	1,278,170	430,370	Schools were closed in March. They re-opened in May.	[23][84][87]
Azerbaijan	1,783,390	200,609		[23]
Bahrain	247,489	44,940		[23]
Bangladesh	36,786,304	3,150,539	Schools and universities are closed.	[23]
Belgium	2,457,738	526,720	Schools were closed but nurseries remained open. Schools reopened on 1 September.	[23][84]
Bhutan	176,488	11,944		[23]
Bolivia	2,612,837	—a		[23]
Bosnia and Herzegovina	428,099	95,142	Both schools and universities are closed. Primary schools until the 4th grade reopened on 1 September. Secondary schools reopened 2 weeks after but returned online in October 2020 until further notice.	[23][84][88][89]
Bulgaria	974,469	249,937	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Burkina Faso	4,568,998	117,725	Burkina Faso closed all preschool, primary, post-primary and secondary, professional and university institutions from 16 to 31 March.[90]	[23]
Canada	25,017,635	1,625,578	On 16 March, all schools are closed at the provincial and territorial level with the exception of British Columbia and Yukon. However, Yukon schools began their spring break 16 March and on 18 March 2020 the closure was extended until 15 April 2020. On 17 March, K-12 schools in British Columbia were suspended indefinitely. All educational institutions were closed by late March. Following the summer break, all schools reopened for the next school year.	[23][91][92][93][94]
Cambodia	3,310,778	211,484		[23]
Cayman Islands	9,182	—a		[23]
Chile	3,652,100	1,238,992	Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced that schools across the country would only close if confirmed cases of coronavirus occur among students.	[23][95]
Colombia	9,124,862	2,408,041		[23]
Costa Rica	1,100,782	216,700		[23]
Ivory Coast	6,120,918	217,914	Closure of all preschool, elementary, secondary and higher education establishments for a period of 30 days from 16 March 2020 at midnight[90]	[23]
Croatia	621,991	165,197	All schools closed in March 2020,1-4 Grade reopened in May 2020,all other schools reopened on 7 September 2020 after the summer break.	[23][84]
Cyprus	135,354	45,263		[23]
Czech Republic	1,715,890	352,873	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Democratic People's Republic of Korea	4,229,170	526,400		[23]
Denmark	1,185,564	312,379	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Ecuador	4,462,460	320,765		[23]
Egypt	23,157,420	2,914,473	Grades from 1st primary to 3rd preparatory will do researches from home. 1st and 2nd secondary grades will take their exam from home, while 3rd secondary students will take their exam as usual in schools	[23]
El Salvador	1,414,326	190,519	Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered all schools to close for three weeks, following similar measures in Peru and Panama.[96]	[23]
Equatorial Guinea	160,019	—a		[23]
Estonia	224,987	47,794	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
Ethiopia	23,929,322	757,175	Ethiopia has closed all schools and issued a ban on all public gatherings.[97]	[23]
Fiji	421,329	32,565	All schools and universities will be physically closed at least until June 2020. On 19 April 2020, one month after the first case was confirmed, the Ministry of Education confirmed that all primary and secondary schools will begin a transition to online learning across all grades, with online classes to start from 4 May 2020. All universities have already transitioned to online learning and began classes from 2 April 2020.[98]
France	12,929,509	2,532,831	Most of primary schools reopened on 11 May. Universities are still closed.	[23][84]
Gabon	468,362	10,076		[23]
Georgia	732,451	151,226		[23]
Germany	12,291,001	3,091,694		[23]
Ghana	9,253,063	443,693	Schools were reopened in January.[99]	[23]
Chinab	233,169,621	42,266,464	As the country of origin of the virus, China was the first country to mandate school closures. Following the Spring Festival holiday, China asked its nearly 200 million students to stay home and continue their educations online. According to UNESCO, China started reopening schools on March. See also: COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong COVID-19 pandemic in Macau	[100][101][23]
Greece	1,469,505	735,027	Both schools and universities were closed for two months. They reopened again on May. The new school year began on 14 September, with mandatory wearing of face masks for students from nursery school up to high school.[102] However, on 6 November middle and high schools closed again due to a second national lockdown, with primary schools and kindergartens closing as well one week later.	[23][84][103]
Grenada	26,028	9,260		[23]
Guatemala	4,192,944	366,674		[23]
Hondurasc	2,018,314	266,908	Honduras announced it would close schools for two weeks.[104]	[23]
Hungary	1,504,740	287,018	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Icelandg	80,257	17,967	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
India	286,376,216	34,337,594	On 16 March, India declared a countrywide lock-down of schools and colleges. On 19 March, the University Grants Commission asked universities to postpone exams until 31 March. The board exams conducted by CBSE and ICSE boards were postponed until 31 March at first and then later until July. Online learning was encouraged, despite the fact that pre-COVID, only a quarter of households (24 per cent) in India had access to the internet and there is a large rural-urban and gender divide. By April 2021 almost all States had opened schools.	[23][105][106][107][108]
Indonesia	60,228,569	8,037,218	Schools and universities are closed. Students study from home with online educational applications, such as Google Classroom. Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, Nadiem Makarim launched an educational TV block on TVRI and has prepared for the scenario to study online until the end of the year.	[23]
Iran	14,561,998	4,073,827	On 23 February, Iran's Ministry of Health announced the closure of universities, higher educational institutions and schools in several cities and provinces.	[23][109]
Iraq	7,010,788	424,908	The country's first school closures took place in February 2020. In November 2020, schools opened their doors to children and began operating 6 days a week instead of 5, in an effort to maintain social distancing.	[23][110]
Irelandb	1,064,091	255,031	Schools, colleges and childcare facilities closed nationwide from 12 March 2020 until August/September 2020.[111][112][113]	[23]
Israel	2,271,426	210,041	On 13 September 2020, the government announced a three-week long lockdown which included full closure of schools, malls, and hotels.	[23][114]
Italy	9,039,741	1,837,051	Both schools and universities are closed.[100]	[23]
Jamaica	552,619	74,537		[23]
Japand	16,496,928	—	On 27 February 2020, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested that all Japanese elementary, junior high, and high schools close until early April to help contain the virus.[115][116] This decision came days after the education board of Hokkaido called for the temporary closure of its 1,600 public and private schools.[117] Nursery schools were excluded from the nationwide closure request.[115] As of 5 March, 98.8 per cent of all municipally run elementary schools have complied with Abe's request, resulting in 18,923 school closures.[118]	[23]
Jordan	2,051,840	320,896	On 14 March 2020, the Jordanian government imposed measures fight the outbreak, including a tighter lockdown that closes all borders and bans all incoming and outgoing flights, closing schools and universities for two weeks and banning daily prayers in mosques.[119] The minister of Education announced launching TV channels to broadcast lessons to high school students.[120] Private schools and universities announced their schedules of online listens using different channels.	[23]
Kazakhstan	4,375,239	685,045		[23]
Kenya	13,751,830	562,521	NAIROBI, Kenya 26 Apr – Kenyan schools will remain closed for the next one month, following a directive by the government in measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.[121] On 30 May, Education CS says schools should remain closed after receiving a National Response Committee report. He added the government will provide proper guidelines when the time is right to open schools. The report however recommends school's should be opened in September and students in Standard 8 and Form 4 should do their national examinations in February 2021.	[23]
Kuwait	632,988	116,336		[23]
Kyrgyzstan	1,443,925	217,693		[23]
Latvia	313,868	82,914	Schools closed until 14 April.	[23][84]
Lebanon	1,132,178	231,215	Nurseries are closed. Schools, colleges and universities implement distance learning.	[23]
Lesotho	313,868	82,914	Lesotho declared a national emergency on 18 March and closed schools until 17 April (but allowed school meals to continue).	[23][122]
Libya	1,510,198	375,028		[23]
Lithuania	460,257	125,863	Nurseries are closed. Schools, colleges and universities implement distance learning.	[23][84]
Luxembourg	102,839	7,058	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
Malaysia	6,677,157	1,284,876	Schools and universities are closed from 18 March and reopen back on 15 July only for Form 1-4 Student and Primary 5–6.	[23][123]
Mauritania	928,218	19,371		[23]
Mexico	33,159,363	4,430,248	Several universities, including the UNAM and Tec de Monterrey, switched to virtual classes on 13 March 2020.[124] The following day, the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) announced that all sporting and civic events in schools would be cancelled.[125] Also on 14 March, the Secretariat of Education announced that Easter break, originally planned from 6 to 17 April, would be extended from 20 March to 20 April as a preventive measure.[126] The following day, 14 March, the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) announced that all sporting and civic events in schools would be cancelled.[125] Also on 14 March, the Secretariat of Education announced that Easter break, originally planned from 6 to 17 April, would be extended from 20 March to 20 April as a preventive measure.[126] On the same day the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, (UANL) (the country's third largest university in terms of student population) suspended classes for its more than 206,000 students starting on 17 March and ending until further notice.[127]	[23]
Mongolia	870,962	155,248		[23]
Montenegro	111,863	23,826	Montenegro barred public gatherings, closed schools for at least two weeks.	[23]
Morocco	7,886,899	1,056,257		[23]
Namibia	689,520	56,046	All schools were closed on 14 March 2020. Although this does not automatically apply to universities, they also suspended face-to-face teaching. Reopening of schools is only planned for "stage 3" of the plan to return to normalcy which is to come into effect on 2 June.	[23][128][129][130]
Netherlands	3,336,544	875,455	On 12 March, all Dutch universities suspended physical teaching until 1 April, but online teaching will continue. The second school closure started on 16 December 2020. One day after the lockdown started.	[23][84]
New Zealandg			All schools and universities were closed down across the country on 26 March. The government imposed a two-week holiday, allowing schools to transition to forms of distant teaching as soon as possible. Universities closed for one week, but resumed with online teaching afterwards. Other school services remained open, but teaching was restricted to distant learning. All schools reopened on 11 May.	[131][132][133]
North Macedonia	298,135	61,488	Both schools and nurseries are closed.	[23][84]
Norwayg	1,073,521	284,042	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
Oman	780,431	119,722	All educational institutions, public and private have been closed since 14 March. These include nurseries, schools, colleges and universities.	[23][134]
Pakistan	44,925,306	1,878,101	All educational institutions are open.	[23][135]
Palestine	1,404,021	222,336	Starting on 28 February 2021, schools in the occupied West Bank closed for 12 days in an attempt to stem the further spread of COVID-19 variants. High schools were exempt from this mandate.	[23][136]
Panama	837,246	161,102	Panama's education minister Maruja Gorday announced the suspension of classes at public and private schools throughout most of the country starting on 11 March and extending at least through 7 April.	[23][96]
Paraguay	1,519,678	225,211		[23]
Peru	8,015,606	1,895,907		[23]
Philippines	24,861,728	3,589,484	Both schools and universities are closed since 16 March 2020. Students study at home either online or module learning. The country has adopted a distance learning system – a mix of online classes, printed modules, and TV/radio lessons – following President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to suspend in-person classes until a COVID-19 vaccine became widely available. In-person classes reopened on 5 November 2021, in low-risk areas for colleges and universities, with a 50% class size limit. A trial for in-person classes for elementary and high schools will begin at 15 November 2021 for 100 public schools.	[23][137][138][139][140].[141][142]
Poland	6,003,285	1,550,203	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Portugal	2,028,254	346,963	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Qatar	309,856	33,668		[23]
Republic of Koreae	7,044,963	3,136,395		[23]
Moldova	498,881	87,277	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Romaniaf	2,951,879	—	Schools were closed due to the pandemic from 11 March to 13 September 2020;[143][144] 9 November 2020 – 7 February 2021;[145][146] 2 April-4 May 2021 (prolonged spring break).[147] Distance learning during school closures was optional until late April 2020.[148]	[23][84]
Russia	—	—	On 14 March, the Russian Ministry of Education advised schools across the country to adopt remote learning "as appropriate." The Moscow region introduced flexible attendance policies at area public schools and kindergartens, however all regular classes at schools would continue normally and children who elected to stay home at their parents discretion would learn online.[149] The following day private schools in Moscow were urged to suspend operations for two weeks while several schools located within foreign embassies in Moscow were advised to enter a two-week quarantine.[150][149] Moscow's chief sanitary doctor signed a decree banning visitors to boarding schools and orphanages.[151] On 16 March, Moscow extended measures to closing public schools, universities, athletic schools and supplemental education institutions from 21 March to 12 April.[151][152] Quarantine in all Russian schools since 23 March.[153]
Rwanda	3,388,696	75,713		[23]
Saint Lucia	30,925	2,237		[23]
Saudi Arabia	6,789,773	1,620,491		[23]
Senegal	3,475,647	184,879	Schools closed from 14 March for 3–4 weeks.	[23]
Serbia	964,796	256,172	Both schools and universities are closed.	[23][84]
Singapore	—	—	Schools are conducting full home-based learning. Schools remain open only for parents who cannot find alternative accommodation for their children.[154]	[154]
Slovakia	832,055	156,048	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
Slovenia	332,677	79,547		[23]
South Africa	13,496,529	1,116,017	President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and closed all schools until the end of South Africa's Easter holiday. On 16 March, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation is announced official measures impacting university and colleges across the country in response to a student at Wits University in Johannesburg who tested positive for coronavirus.	[23][155][156]
Spain	7,696,101	2,010,183	Schools are open.	[23][84]
Sri Lanka	4,917,578	300,794	The government ordered to close schools from 12 March to 20 April which also marks the end of the first term. The private tuition classes and tutorials are also closed for two weeks until 26 March.	[23][157][158][159]
Sudan	8,171,079	653,088		[23]
Switzerland	1,289,219	300,618	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
Syria	3,491,113	697,415	Schools and universities have closed and in some form e-learning has developed.	[23]
Taiwan			Schools were closed in a two-week extension of holidays in spring 2020. In 2021, schools were closed from 19 May until the start of the new academic year on 1 September. This second period of nationwide closures was due to a spike in domestic COVID-19 cases.	[160][161]
Thailand	12,990,728	2,410,713		[23]
Trinidad and Tobago	260,439	16,751	Schools were closed in March. Online-only learning since 14 September. Education involving tuition and/or field work are postponed.	[23]
Tunisia	2,479,163	272,261		[23]
Turkey	17,702,938	7,198,987	Online-only learning since 23 March Educations involving tuition and/or field work are postponed.	[23]
Turkmenistang			Holidays were extended in all secondary schools until 6 April of Turkmenistan. An order signed by the Ministry of Education as a preventative measure aims to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases in connection with the WHO coronavirus pandemic. Educations involving tuition and/or field work are postponed.	[162]
Ukraine	5,170,368	1,614,636	Schools are closed.	[23][84]
United Arab Emirates	1,170,565	191,794	On 3 March, the government announced that all private and public schools and colleges will close for four weeks from Sunday 8 March and the students will study at home for second two weeks.[163] Then on 30 March, they announced that the e-learning programme will continue until the end of the year.[164]	[23][165]
United Kingdom			It was announced on 18 March that all UK schools would close by the 20th (the end of that working week) for all but the most vulnerable children and pupils whose parents were working in fields considered particularly important to the anti coronavirus effort.	[166][167]
Uzbekistan	7,174,483	299,634		[23]
Venezuela	6,866,822	—a	President Nicholas Maduro issued a "collective quarantine" in seven states in Venezuela and suspended school and university classes.	[23][168]
Yemen	5,852,325	267,498		[23]
Zambia	3,955,937	56,680	Schools have been closed until further notice.	[23]
TOTAL	831,021,742	128,207,915		[23]

Notes

a^ Data on enrolment in tertiary education programmes is not available.

b^ Schools have started opening, but the majority remain closed.

c^ While all schools are open, universities have the choice to remain open or not.

d^ Universities are currently on school spring break, and hence closures not related to the coronavirus.

e^ Universities have postponed the beginning of the academic year by two weeks to 16 March.

f^ Most universities remain open.

g^g All educational institutions have opened.

Localised closures

As of 12 January 2021, 40 countries have localised school closures. UNESCO estimates 473,933,356 learners are potentially at risk (pre-primary to upper-secondary education) and 77,938,904 learners are potentially at risk in tertiary education.^[23]

Notes

a^ Figures correspond to total number of learners enrolled at pre-primary, primary, lower-secondary, and upper-secondary levels of education (ISCED levels 0 to 3), as well as at tertiary education levels (ISCED levels 5 to 8) who could be affected should localised closures become countrywide. Enrolment figures based on latest UNESCO Institute of Statistics data.

b^ All educational institutions are open.

Unintended strain on healthcare system

Women make up almost 70% of the healthcare workforce, exposing them to a greater risk of infection.^[203] They often cannot attend work because of childcare obligations that result from school closures. In fact, in the U.S., the healthcare sector has one of the highest rates of childcare obligations in the broader economy, with approximately 28.8% of the workforce responsible for providing care to children aged 3–12.^[204] At best, this means that school closures put pressure on health workers in systems already strained by COVID-19 caseloads. At worst, this means that some medical professionals may not be present at health facilities altogether.^[6]

Online learning

A math distance lesson over a video conference during the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

Online learning has become a critical lifeline for education, as institutions seek to minimize the potential for community transmission.^[2][205] Technology can enable teachers and students to access specialized materials well beyond textbooks, in multiple formats and in ways that can bridge time and space.^[202] Online learning solutions can take many forms, including high-tech solutions such as tablet-based adaptive learning software or low-tech solutions such as radio, sms, and television.^[206][207]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools across the world began conducting classes via videotelephony software such as Zoom, Google Classroom and/or Google Meet. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has created a framework to guide an education response to the COVID-19 pandemic for distance learning.^[208] Whenever this was possible, the ability to teach in real time significantly helped educators handle the transition, in comparison with their colleagues who had to rely on asynchronous instruction.^[209]

Childcare

A young student in Kerala, India, taking classes online

Closures of early childhood education and care (ECEC) as well as schools increases work-family conflicts particularly for parents with younger children who are in more need of care and supervision of distance learning. School closures puts a strain on parents and guardians to provide childcare and manage distance learning while children are out of school.^[78] In the absence of alternative options, working parents often leave children alone when schools close and this can lead to risky behaviours, including increased influence of peer pressure and substance abuse.^[6] Alternatively, in some emerging economies, parents may resort to bringing their children to work and engaging them in menial labor, as has been the case in Maharashtra, India, where some out-of-school teenagers have been working in sugar cane fields alongside their day laborer parents.^[212]

In the United States, as of early April, more than half of existing childcare programs had shut down at least temporarily and were not serving any children.^[228][229]

Women in the workforce

Many working mothers dropped out of the labor force to take care of their children during school closures and online learning. In places where part-time school attendance or fully virtual learning is implemented, working parents are typically left with a choice of either arranging childcare or to stop working during days when their children are not at school. However, childcare is often difficult to find or unaffordable, due to its increased demand and closures of daycare centers during the pandemic, making it not a viable option for many parents.^[230]

Due to the difficulty of securing accommodations and flexibility from their employers to allow them to take care of their children, women in the US, particularly Black and Latina women, have lost a disproportionate share of jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. These include forced attritions from women being unable to meet their productivity goals, and voluntary resignations from women who face too much pressure from managing both their paid and unpaid responsibilities. In many cases, women in the workforce were unable to afford private childcare, hence necessitating them to take a leave of absence from work or resigning from their job.^[230] A spring 2021 academic study suggested that a much larger proportion of mothers left the workforce in US states where schools offered primarily remote education. Between February 2020 and 2021, more than 2.3 million women in the US have left the labor force. In January 2021, only 57% of American women participated in the labor force, the lowest rate in 33 years.^[231]

A study from Washington University in St. Louis found that mothers have reduced their paid working hours four to five times more than fathers from February to April 2020, which widened the gender gap in working hours by a maximum of 50%. According to authors of the study, the disparity may lead to droves of women leaving the workforce and massive layoffs for women.^[232] Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the University of Michigan, warned that the exodus of women from the workforce during the pandemic may lead to long-term impacts in women's labor market outcomes.^[230] Because working hours are a major cause of the gender pay gap, and periods of non-employment has adverse impacts on future earnings and job mobility, expertsr warn that the pandemic-induced reduction can set women's advancement back for decades.^[231]

Nutrition and food insecurity

Nutrition plays a critical role in cognitive development and academic performance for children.^[233] Many children worldwide rely on free or discounted meals at schools.^[78] When schools close, nutrition is especially compromised for children in schools where food is provided.^[23]

In the United States, school lunch programmes are the second-biggest anti-hunger initiative after food stamps. Every year, nearly 30 million children rely on schools to provide free or low-cost meals including breakfast, lunch, snacks, and even dinner.^[234] In Washington State, around 45% of the states 1.1 million students enrolled in traditional public and charter schools qualify for subsidised school meals. At least 520,000 students and their families may be affected by food insecurity as a result of school closures.^[235] In Alabama, where state-wide school closures as of 18 March have affected over 720,000 students, the state Superintendent announced that staff in schools disproportionately affected by poverty would create meal distribution networks to provide food for students who rely on school lunches.^[236]

Many families with low income qualify for school lunch programs funded by the federal government and subsidized at the state level. Due to this need in our society, schools are required to stay open amid the COVID-19 crisis to provide meals to children who qualify for free or reduced rate meals. School have become creative and they send out a weekly survey to reach every student who will need a free or reduced lunch.^[237]

In the UK, footballer Marcus Rashford pushed the government to extend free school meals over the summer holidays in August. It was voted out at first, by 61 votes. However, in a U-turn, Boris Johnson's government changed it and agreed to carry on paying.^[238] Rashford was given an MBE for his efforts.^[239]

Student learning outcomes

Student taking an online class in the US

School closures negatively impact student learning outcomes.^[6][8] Schooling provides essential learning and when schools close, children and youth are deprived opportunities for growth and development. The disadvantages are disproportionate for under-privileged learners who tend to have fewer educational opportunities beyond school.^[211] When schools close, parents are often asked to facilitate the learning of children at home and can struggle to perform this task. This is especially true for parents with limited education and resources.^[6]

Students gain literacy slower during school closures than in a business-as-usual academic year. It has been estimated that the rate of reading ability gain in kindergarten children in the U.S slows down by 66% during school closures compared to active schooling.^[5] A recent study of the effect of the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake found that school closures of an average of 14 weeks has resulted in affected children being 1.5 to 2 years behind their peers who were unaffected by the disaster and its resulting school closures.^[240] In practical terms, this learning loss could result in affected children earning 15% less in every adult year of their lives.^[240]

Student drop-out rates tend to increase as an effect of school closures due to the challenge of ensuring all students return to school once school closures ends. This is especially true of protracted closures.^[78][6] Disadvantaged, at-risk, or homeless children are more likely not to return to school after the closures are ended, and the effect will often be a life-long disadvantage from lost opportunities.^[241]

Schools are also hubs of social activity and human interaction. When schools are closed, many children and youth miss out on social contact that is essential to learning and development.^[6] Accordingly, teachers' perception of student coping significantly decreased with each education level handled, with university instructors finding their students to handle the situation much better than elementary school teachers did.^[242]

Inaccessibility to mitigation strategies

The predicted reading ability gain before, during, and after COVID-19 related school closures^[5]

The effect of school closure on academic achievement has been studied in the summer months.^[243] Many of the strategies used to prevent academic slump, such as attending summer school, visiting libraries, and/or participating in literacy-rich summer-based activities are not available during the pandemic. Reading every day to a child, an option available while staying at home, reduced the rate of loss by 42%.^[5]

Special education services

Potential impacts of school closures and reliance on distance learning are not addressed in US federal acts of legislation in the early months of the pandemic.^[235][244] Special education students are potentially one of the most impacted groups of COVID-19. Educators continue to focus on implementing strategies to deliver services and accommodations in virtual, hybrid, and in person settings. However, information of how severe they have been affected, and how and if their grades will be affected due to their status and how this would affect their future are currently not specified.

Effect of school closure on COVID-19 cases and mortality

The effect of school closure on COVID-19 cases and mortality has been examined in multiple studies.

In a study that looked specifically at school closure in the United States, closure of schools was associated with 1.37 million fewer cases and 40,600 fewer deaths from COVID-19 in a six-week study period.^[30] However, two international studies examining the impact of reopening schools from kindergarten to grade 12 found no consistent relationship between the reopening of these schools and the spread of COVID-19, with another study from the United States showing no increased risk to childcare workers who continued to work.^[245] Other studies that looked at multiple policy changes have shown more modest changes associated with school closure.^[246]

Early childhood education

Playground at a Seattle elementary school is closed due to the epidemic on 25 March 2020.

Early childhood educational programmes are usually designed for children below the age of 3 and may refer to preschools, nursery schools, kindergartens, and some day care programmes.^[250] While many primary and secondary schools have closed around the world due to COVID-19, measures impacting early childhood educational programmes have varied. In some countries and territories for instance in Australia preschools and day cares are considered necessary services and have not closed in tandem with broader school closure measures.^[251]

In the United States, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families encouraged child care and early learning centres to stay open. Some school districts may offer alternative child care options, prioritising the children of first responders and healthcare workers.^[252] The governor of Maryland mandated that specific child care services remain open for the children of emergency personnel while Washington State and California have left it to the discretion of care providers.^[253][254] California Governor Gavin Newsom explained his state's position, saying "We need our child care facilities, our daycare centers, to operate to absorb the impact of these school closures."^[254] Colorado has encouraged the development of "tool kits" for parents to use at home to emulate the lessons children would have received in their early learning programmes.^[255]

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe closed all schools throughout the country until 8 April, however, children's daycare facilities were excluded.^[256] In early March, five adults associated with a nursing facility for preschool children in Kobe tested positive for coronavirus. After testing over one hundred children at the facility, a preschool student was found to be carrying the virus.^[257]

Primary

An empty classroom in closed elementary school due to COVID-19 in Kikinda, Serbia

Primary or elementary education typically consists of the first four to seven years of formal education. Kindergarten is the first time children participate in formal education. Based on a comparison of longitudinal literacy data in kindergarten-aged students during a spring semester of schooling versus during summer vacation, one study predicted that COVID-19 school closures would slow the rate of literacy ability gain by 66% in kindergarten children in the absence of mitigating alternative educational strategies.^[5] The study estimates that over an 8-month period from 1 January to 1 September 2020, assuming school closures from 16 March to 1 September 2020 (and taking into account the summer vacation that would have still normally taken place during that time), that these kindergarten children would have gained 31% less literacy ability on average than if school closures had not occurred.^[5]

Secondary

Secondary education is in most countries the phase in the education continuum responsible for the development of the young during their adolescence, the most rapid phase of their physical, mental and emotional growth.^[258] However, according to many researchers, secondary education students have lost the structure they need in order to thrive in the secondary environment. Instead, students struggle with self-sufficiency and are at risk of falling behind due to distractors in their home and online.^[259] The social-emotional wellbeing of secondary students is also of concern with a recent survey citing that 80% of students have experienced some negative impact to their mental health due to the pandemic. 20% say their mental health has significantly worsened.^[260] The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that students should get plenty of rest, exercise regularly, and eat well-balanced meals in order to assist in coping with the mental stressors of the pandemic.^[261]

In the United States, standardized tests for college admissions that are taken near the end of secondary education, such as the SAT and ACT, have adapted to administer in person exams at lower capacity and obeying precautionary measures.^[262][263] Online proctoring has also been explored as a method of making the test more accessible. An online edition of the TOEFL exam is now available for students to take at home.^[264] Additionally, many colleges and universities have moved away from requiring standardized tests for admissions, or making the requirement optional.^[265]

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) cancelled the examinations for its Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme candidates scheduled between 30 April and 22 May 2020, reportedly affecting more than 200,000 students worldwide. The IBO stated that it would award candidates their diplomas or certificates based on "their coursework" and "the established assessment expertise, rigor, and quality control already built into the programme."^[266] College Board has begun offering both in person and online testing for Advanced Placement exams in the 2020–2021 school year.^[267]

Private schools in the United States

One effect of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States has come in the form of increases in private school enrollment. Many parents seeking out private school instruction need a place to send their child due to the parents need to work outside of the home. Despite the high cost of private schools, parents find that the tuition cost to be worth it.^[268]

An unintended consequence of this migration to private schooling is the widening inequality gap between families that can afford private school tuition and those who cannot.^[269] These families often have their children at home in virtual learning environments. Issues like poor broadband connection and the inability for parents to properly support their children's learning due to lack of English language skills or work conflicts will see certain students fall behind academically.

Primary and secondary schools in Kenya

A study on "teachers' and parents' preparedness to support virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya" shows that most parents and teachers were not prepared to support virtual learning.^[270] This issue affected all schools: public 8-4-4 schools, private 8-4-4 schools, international schools, and private schools in the country. This points to a weak support system for virtual education in Kenyan schools during COVID-19 outbreak affecting virtual learning delivery.

Grade deflation

However, the IBO came under heavy criticism worldwide for their methods in calculating the students' final grades and their "Enquiry upon results" (EUR) strategy after results were released on 6 July 2020. Consequently, many students not only received much lower grades than what they were predicted to by their teachers but also missed the entrance requirements to every university they applied to, affecting approximately 170,000 students in 153 countries. As a result, petitions that garnered dozens of thousands of signatures were created online with the hashtag "IBSCANDAL" becoming viral, schools and people have lost confidence with the education company and are considering other alternatives for secondary education, and educational reforms are being suggested where students will deviate away from taking significant examinations in the future.^[271]

Higher Education

Tertiary education, also known as higher education, refers to the non-compulsory educational levels that follow completion of secondary school or high school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Individuals who complete tertiary education generally receive certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.^[272]

For higher education, the preparation of the future workforce is a key priority. Many occupations rely on education that has been supported through campus-focused activities such as face-to-face interactions with other students, work-integrated learning, and further hands-on exercises.^[273] For example, the healthcare workforce of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals have been trained by in-person observations - similar to the apprenticeship model. In-person education has been shown to create stronger student-tutor and student-student interactions and relationships, which can promote better engagement. With COVID-19 and the pivot to distance learning, a similar level of depth is highly difficult to achieve. More evidence on feasibility, benefits, and obstacles is needed to analyze the drivers of economic impact for the various types of initiatives introduced in online education.

Undergraduate education

Sign at Oregon State University directing students to testing site

Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and prior to post-graduate education, for which the learner is typically awarded a bachelor's degree.^[272]

The closure of colleges and universities has widespread individual, organizational, and learning and teaching implications for students, faculty, administrators, and the institutions themselves.^[8][274] The initial period of rapid adaption during 2020 contained three primary responses to COVID-19: minimal legal response, delayed commencement of study periods, and rapid digitalization of curriculum.^[275] Thoughts about what to make of this situation resulted in optional learning online or in person depending on what the university declared as being mandatory.^[276]

Millions of students are expected to defer the start of their studies for their undergraduate degree to a later year due to the pandemic. This not only will negatively affect the future university intake process due to shortages in places available but universities worldwide are expected to lose billions of USD in equivalent due to the number of students expected to study at university in the 2020–2021 academic year.^[277]

Colleges and universities across the United States have been called upon to issue refunds to students for the cost of tuition and room and board.^[278][279]

While $6 billion in emergency relief is to be made available to students during the pandemic, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos decided on 21 April 2020 that it will only be made available to those students who are also already eligible for federal financial aid. This rule will exclude tens of thousands of undocumented students who participate in the government's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, or "Dreamers") program from being able to receive emergency relief funds.^[280]

Apart from colleges losing vast amounts of income^[281] undergraduate students themselves have lost vast amounts of imperative education due to COVID-19.^[282] With the lack of regular education amongst all students, learning seems harder to manage. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, college students would have in-person classes, in-person office hours, and in-person extracurricular activities. However, the pandemic has created an atmosphere where students who have an idea about their future occupation, are learning essential information behind a screen. These changes have made focusing on classes built around a students selected major very difficult, as they are not experiencing what they are passionate about to the fullest extent.^[283] The result of this is lost passion for specific subjects, the inability to focus on crucial information, and tainted academic integrity all over.

Impact on local economies

In the United States of America, colleges and universities operate as "mini-cities" which generate significant revenue for cities, states, and regions.^[284] For example, Princeton University estimated in 2017 that it contributed $1.58 billion USD per year to the New Jersey economy, and that students spent about $60 million in off-campus spending.^[284] College and university closures have a domino effect on economies with far-reaching implications.^[7]

In March, Linda Bilmes of the Harvard Kennedy School noted that "local hotels, restaurants, cafes, shops, car rental agencies and other local businesses obtain a significant share of annual revenue from graduation week and college reunions... these communities will suffer a lot of economic damage if the colleges remain closed at that time."^[284]

Small towns which rely on college students to support the local economy and provide labour to local businesses are especially impacted by school closures and the exodus of students from campus.^[278] In Ithaca, New York, Cornell University students spent at least $4 million a week in Tompkins County. In the wake of Cornell's decision to keep students home following spring break and transition to virtual instruction, the Mayor of Ithaca called for "immediate and forceful federal action — we will see a horrific economic impact as a result of Cornell University closing."^[285]

UNESCO recommendations

Digital assignment during COVID-19 pandemic in a Texas public school

UNESCO made ten recommendations for engaging in online learning:

1. Examine the readiness and choose the most relevant tools: Decide on the use high-technology and low-technology solutions based on the reliability of local power supplies, internet connectivity, and digital skills of teachers and students. This could range through integrated digital learning platforms, video lessons, MOOCs, to broadcasting through radios and TVs.
2. Ensure inclusion of the distance learning programmes: Implement measures to ensure that students including those with disabilities or from low-income backgrounds have access to distance learning programmes, if only a limited number of them have access to digital devices. Consider temporarily decentralising such devices from computer labs to families and support them with internet connectivity.
3. Protect data privacy and data security: Assess data security when uploading data or educational resources to web spaces, as well as when sharing them with other organisations or individuals. Ensure that the use of applications and platforms does not violate students' data privacy.
4. Prioritize solutions to address psychosocial challenges before teaching: Mobilize available tools to connect schools, parents, teachers, and students with each other. Create communities to ensure regular human interactions, enable social caring measures, and address possible psychosocial challenges that students may face when they are isolated.
5. Plan the study schedule of the distance learning programmes: Organise discussions with stakeholders to examine the possible duration of school closures and decide whether the distance learning programme should focus on teaching new knowledge or enhance students' knowledge of prior lessons. Plan the schedule depending on the situation of the affected zones, level of studies, needs of students needs, and availability of parents. Choose the appropriate learning methodologies based on the status of school closures and home-based quarantines. Avoid learning methodologies that require face-to-face communication.
6. Provide support to teachers and parents on the use of digital tools: Organise brief training or orientation sessions for teachers and parents as well, if monitoring and facilitation are needed. Help teachers to prepare the basic settings such as solutions to the use of internet data if they are required to provide live streaming of lessons.
7. Blend appropriate approaches and limit the number of applications and platforms: Blend tools or media that are available for most students, both for synchronous communication and lessons, and for asynchronous learning. Avoid overloading students and parents by asking them to download and test too many applications or platforms.
8. Develop distance learning rules and monitor students' learning process: Define the rules with parents and students on distance learning. Design formative questions, tests, or exercises to monitor closely students' learning process. Try to use tools to support submission of students' feedback and avoid overloading parents by requesting them to scan and send students' feedback
9. Define the duration of distance learning units based on students' self-regulation skills: Keep a coherent timing according to the level of the students' self-regulation and metacognitive abilities especially for livestreaming classes. Preferably, the unit for primary school students should not be more than 20 minutes, and no longer than 40 minutes for secondary school students.
10. Create communities and enhance connection: Create communities of teachers, parents, and school managers to address sense of loneliness or helplessness, facilitate sharing of experience and discussion on coping strategies when facing learning difficulties.^[286]

Open Education Community response

Open Education community members have shared open educational resources (OER) in response to COVID-19, including:

• Commonwealth of Learning created the resource "Keeping the doors of learning open".^[287] The project brings together a curated list of resources for policymakers, school and college administrators, teachers, parents and learners that will assist with student learning during the closure of educational institutions. Most of these are available as OER.
• Community Contributed Open Educational Resources for Teaching and Learning in the COVID-19 Era is a co-created spreadsheet of resources. There are multiple tabs on the spreadsheet providing links to: K-12 (primary / secondary) resources, OER repositories, OER toolkits, student support, online teaching, and more.^[288]
• OERu online courses^[289] is a resource to build capacity in the design and development of OER-enabled online learning. The OERu offers two facilitated online courses including free access to a competency certification in copyright and Creative Commons licensing. These courses will provide skills for participants wanting to design and publish their own online courses using the OERu's open source, component-based digital learning environment.
• Teaching and Learning Online is a website by SkillsCommons and MERLOT that offers a free online resource page in response to COVID-19. This page helps teachers and students prepare to start teaching and learning online.^[290]
• The University of Arizona University Libraries created a "Library Support for Shifting to Online Teaching" page^[291] and a Free-to-Use Course Materials webinar.^[292]
• WirLernenOnline is a German online platform to find learning material for digital lessons in primary school, secondary school, upper secondary and vocational education.^[293]

Coursera

With schools closed, demand for online education platforms has increased.^[294] Coursera, which can be taught online, also grew significantly during the pandemic.^[294]

• Coursera saw 59% revenue growth year over year, largely due to a pandemic-induced boom in digital learning.^[295]
• Total registered users in 2020 grew 65% over 2019.^[295]
• During the pandemic, Coursera also has partnered with more than 330 government agencies across 70 countries and 30 US states and cities as part of the Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative, which helps governments offer unemployed workers free access to thousands of courses for business, technology and data science skills from companies including Amazon and Google.^[295]

Zoom

The need for a platform for video conferences and facilitating online classrooms was created by the pandemic. Zoom (software) had significantly grown from a lesser-known work software to one of the most popular video conferencing applications. ^[296]

• Zoom's revenue in 2020 was four times the amount it was in 2019 ^[296]
• In December in 2019, Zoom had just 10 million daily meeting participants. This number increased significantly due to the pandemic moving classrooms and workspaces online to 350 million. ^[296]
• At the peak of online learning within the pandemic, there were more than 90,000 schools using Zoom. ^[297]

Google Classroom

The closure of schools created a need for a virtual classroom portal, and Google Classroom served that purpose for many schools. It offered teachers features such as the integration of the Google Suite along with learning management tools for uploading and submitting assignments. ^[298] Another factor that helped Google Classroom become a large option for schools is the integration with Chromebooks that many schools had already utilized before the pandemic. ^[298]

• From 2020 to 2021, Google Classroom saw an increase from 40 million to over 150 million users ^[299]