COVID has reinforced existing education inequities
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on education are multifaceted and long-term. In a region as diverse as Asia-Pacific, the pandemic has exacerbated existing regional discrepancies, with South Asia and some Southeast Asian countries being particularly affected. One such aspect is the vast differences in the duration of full and partial school closures across Asia.Even during COVID, in-person classes were, on average, still the most used teaching mode in East Asia and the Pacific. In contrast, they were the least implemented mode in South Asian schools, where partial school openings were most common. During partial school openings, schools either implemented a rotation system or were only open temporarily to students from specific grades or those preparing for exams. These difficult conditions for both teachers and students have led to major learning delays across the region, averaging six months in East Asia and the Pacific and 12 months in South Asia.
