The pandemic brought education systems worldwide to a halt, with school closures affecting more than 1.6 billion learners, with South Asia accounting for nearly 434 million children. The World Bank estimates that Learning Poverty in low- and middle-income countries might increase from 53 to 63 percent. However, more recent simulations suggest this number can grow to 70 percent due to longer-than-expected school closures.
There is an urgent need for a large-scale, practical, swift, innovative, and collaborative education response across South Asia to address the widening learning loss and the resultant impact on the life and livelihood of all children and youth.
A regional ministerial round table will deliberate on the key findings from the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) report to aid the development of a South Asia Regional Recovery Plan. This event will provide a platform to the panel to share the key findings from the report with counterparts and CSOs from South Asia, as well as bring together policy makers from South Asia, global education experts, and civil society organizations working on education in the South Asia region and around the world and set the stage for development of a South Asia Regional Learning Recovery Plan.
This event is to be held virtually on the 11th of April, at 5:00 PM IST.