JOINT STATEMENT

Focusing on the Foundations: Education in the Time of COVID-19

As schools reopen, governments are rightly focused on ensuring school re-entry for as many as possible. Now is a unique opportunity for governments, NGOs, and multilaterals to go a step beyond ensuring school re-entry to achieving learning for all—including the most disadvantaged. Previous research shows a central barrier to learning is that children come into classrooms at very different levels, many unable to keep up with the curriculum. As the COVID-19 crisis is expected to widen the gap between children with access to learning resources out of school and those without, teachers are likely to return to classes with an even wider range of kids’ abilities in their classrooms, making their jobs even more difficult, and risking even more children left behind. Drawing on decades of rigorous evidence and practical experience across dozens of countries, Douglas B. Marshall, Jr. Foundation, Innovations for Poverty Action, J-PAL, Pratham, Teaching at the Right Level Africa, and Young 1ove issued a joint statement recommending two actions, in particular, to support foundational learning for all, as we head back to primary schools around the world.

Watch the video here and read the full joint statement here.