A Call for Action: Mitigating Long-Term Impacts of COVID-19 on Education in Africa

During the COVID-19–related school closures, governments, including the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) partner countries in Africa, established several interventions, such as distance-learning solutions, accelerated learning, as well as catch-up programs to mitigate the short-term consequences of COVID-19. This is evidenced in the work of the KIX Observatory on COVID-19 Responses in Africa’s Educational Systems,[1] among other sources. However, little is known about the longer-term implications of the pandemic on education, especially from the perspective of local education stakeholders. Yet, in the long term, the impacts of school closures on educational systems are likely to be felt in the future, as reported by education stakeholders in Africa. To examine potential long-term impacts of COVID-19 on educational systems, the KIX Observatory analyzed stakeholder perspectives from seven countries in Africa: Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, and Nigeria.