Students are slowly returning to schools. However, schools are not the same as before, and they are gradually transitioning to a “new normal’’. Experts foresee that COVID-19 will forever alter the world order and paint a new landscape for education. Schools in the education systems that opened recently offer a glimpse of what this change may look like.
Entry by Anne Sofie Olsen and Javier Prado.
The negative effects that COVID-19 will affect all sectors of the economy, including the education sector. On June 9, 2020, Lenín Moreno, President of the Republic of Ecuador, announced the draft of the Organic Law of Humanitarian Support which states that parents who have lost their jobs and have their children in private educational establishments will receive a support of up to 25% of the monthly tuition fees. If they decide not to continue attending a private school, a spot will be guaranteed in a public one.
With the closure of ECD centers and preschools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, young children are among the most affected by the interruption in access to learning opportunities, and by the temporary loss of the protective space offered by school environments.
Juan M. Hernández-Agramonte (IPA), Carolina Méndez (IDB), Olga Namen (IPA), Emma Näslund-Hadley (IDB), and Luciana Velarde (OSEE, Minedu)
The COVID-19 crisis is hitting families and educational systems in the region hard. The pandemic has also had a significant impact on private schools and their community. Many families have lost their jobs and income and have been unable to continue paying monthly school fees/tuition. Other families complain that the distance education their children receive today is of a lower quality service than face-to-face education and refuse to pay the full fees.
June has not been and will not be a regular month in Uruguay. 90 years ago, the construction of the legendary Centenario Stadium that would host the first World Cup was underway, running against the clock. June 2020 will also be a time of preparation and challenges. The reopening of rural educational centers that took place in April will gradually become generalized to urban educational centers, in a hybrid scheme that combines the in-person model with at-home activities.
Undoubtedly, what is urgent and important today is investing in public health. But what about investing related to education? It is also urgent and important. That it does not have the same press is, perhaps, because the effects of low investment will not be felt now, but its consequences will be seen in a few years and the impact will be on the quality of our lives. The magnitude of the crisis during and after the pandemic makes it impossible for any level, sector or area of education systems to be safe from its effect now or later.