Around the world, young people are turning to protest as electoral politics fails to address their grievances. So what do today’s young people want- and are policy makers prepared to respond? Continue reading From Kenya’s ‘Gen Z protests’ to the world: Youth as a global constituency
By Efe Ukala, Founder of ImpactHER
As Africa stands on the cusp of a digital revolution, a stark reality emerges: women and girls are being left behind. As the sun rises over Mbiri, Nigeria, Nkem is already awake in her family’s modest home on the outskirts of town. Nkem, 22, is preparing for her weekly ritual – a 90-minute walk to the city centre where she can access the Internet at a local café because she lacks a laptop, and her phone is not Internet-enabled. This journey, costing her nearly a day’s wages for just two hours online, exemplifies the digital divide facing millions of African women.
Continue reading “Is Africa’s digital revolution leaving women behind? “
By Camila Pereira, Director of Education, Lemann Foundation
With over 180,000 schools closed from March 2020 to August 2021, remote learning became the only option for Brazil’s 47 million students. Despite huge efforts by educators, public officials and families to support children while they were away from classrooms, a big impact on learning is expected. Brazilian education has long suffered from deeply entrenched inequalities and gaps that have been worsened by COVID-19. What solutions are needed for Brazil to overcome these inequalities?
Continue reading “How Brazil’s schools are overcoming education inequalities through student-centred learning”
By Peter Koninckx, Strategic and Commercial Advisor, Cunégonde Fatondji, Analyst Intern, and Joel Burgos, Senior Project Manager, ShARE
Beyond the death toll and illness of millions of people due to COVID-19, businesses, healthcare, culture and education have had to cope with severe disturbances. But in our opinion, one could argue that higher-education students are amongst the most affected populations, particularly those in Africa. Although Africa is the continent with the least reported cases, the closure of higher education institutions was more widespread, and mitigation measures less effective than in other regions, according to a survey we conducted with more than 165 students across 21 African countries. No quick-fix solution exists, but the current crisis has highlighted the weaknesses in higher education in Africa, indicating where governments, international institutions, NGOs, and the private sector should focus their efforts.
Continue reading “COVID-19 impact on higher education in Africa”
By Michael Ward, Senior Analyst, Education and Skills Directorate, OECD
In many low- and middle-income countries – including some that have participated in PISA – relatively large proportions of 15-year-olds are not enrolled in school or are not enrolled in PISA’s target grades (grade seven and above) and are thus not covered by the assessment (see figure 1). With an increasing number of low- and middle-income countries participating in PISA, and with 61 million children of lower secondary school age, out of school around the world, this population can no longer remain beyond the reach of programmes that try to evaluate the success of education systems.
Continue reading “To measure real progress in education we must include out-of-school children”By Laura Abadia, Policy Analyst, OECD Development Centre
With prolonged school closures affecting over 90% of all learners worldwide at the peak of the first wave, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to explore new and more effective approaches to education delivery and content. From hybrid models that combine in-person with remote learning, to widening academic curricula to include social and emotional competencies, the opportunities for change are manifold. However, recovering from prolonged school closures and seizing these opportunities will require making significant headway against the deep structural challenges perpetuating inequalities in education.
To better understand how COVID-19 is changing education donor behaviour and priorities, the OECD Centre on Philanthropy analysed years of OECD data on official development assistance (ODA) and private philanthropy, and interviewed dozens of donors. Here is what we learned:
Continue reading “Education funding and COVID-19: what does the future hold?”
