Supporting continued access to education during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented situation whereby schooling has been
disrupted for almost 1.6 billion children and youth as governments enforce total or partial
closures of schools in efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Higher education institutions
have also suspended classes. As of late April, UNESCO estimates that 91% of those enrolled
in formal education programmes have been affected.

The closure of schools, universities, technical and vocational training institutes has also
affected refugee learners and students. In these challenging times, displaced and refugee
students are at a particular disadvantage and there is a risk that progress in increased
enrolment may be eroded. The suspension of school feeding programmes could affect the
nutrition and health status of refugee children and youth. Lessons drawn from other pandemic
responses that included extended school closures have shown that girls are less likely to return
to school and are at greater risk of falling behind. As many governments move to at-home
learning modalities, many refugees are disadvantaged as they experience uneven access to
distance education and online learning opportunities and hardware, and do not have access to
support services such as language classes.

As national governments and UNHCR operations respond to school closures and the impact
of the pandemic on education, it is important to adopt a sequenced approach, first mitigating
the cessation of some of the protection and support services offered through schools such as
school feeding schemes, protection against violence, and mental health and psychosocial
support programmes. Continued payment of teacher incentives and cash-for-education
programmes is key to both protecting the education workforce, and continuing to support
refugees’ livelihoods. The current phase of the response is focusing on supporting access to
continued opportunities to learn and supporting teachers to adapt to new teaching modalities.
It is also important to begin preparing early for the re-opening of schools and resumption of
activities, possibly with physical distancing measures in place, acknowledging the practical
challenges that this poses in many of the contexts in which UNHCR works. Schools must be
safe to re-open and WASH facilities may need to be improved and additional handwashing
opportunities introduced. Additional support may be needed for students who have fallen
behind; teachers may require support in disseminating public health messages and managing
children and parents’ anxiety after lock-down measures.

UNHCR has a key role to play in advocating for and ensuring the inclusion of refugees in
national response plans to ensure the continuity of learning. Engagement with communities is
also key to understanding the extent to which refugees have access to the home-based
learning programmes introduced by governments. As this pandemic has the risk of deepening
existing inequalities in education, early action is needed – in coordination with other partners
– to minimize the risk of refugee children and youth being left behind.