Covid-19 and the non-state education sector
Anna Riggall
Dr Anna Riggall leads Education Development Trust's global programme of academic educational research and promotes evidence engagement across the organisation. She has over 20 years’ experience leading international educational research and holds an MA in Education & Development Studies and PhD in Education. She specialises in the areas of education system reform, education for marginalised groups including children with disabilities, girls and refugees, teacher development, leadership, accountability and education in emergencies.
Elnaz Kashefpakdel
Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel joined Education Development Trust in 2021 and is leading the public research portfolio working in partnership with global education leaders, to deliver an internationally recognised portfolio of research. Elnaz has ten years of research experience in the field of careers, school-to-work transitions, youth labour market and employability skills, with her work cited in UK government policies including The Career Strategy 2018 and the Industrial Strategy 2017, and other major sectoral publications and events such as World Economic Forum, OECD Career Readiness and the Careers and Enterprise Company. Elnaz is a trained quantitative researcher and has published numerous academic and professional papers over the course of her career using quantitative research methods. Elnaz has a PhD in Education from the University of Bath, with a focus on widening participation in higher education and teenage aspiration. Elnaz is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) at the University of Derby where she is advancing her academic credentials working with rounded academic experts in the field of careers.
Joel Mullan
Kavita Rajagopalan
Peter Sutoris
Astrid Korin
Astrid has 13 years' experience in policy formulation and multi-sector strategic planning across health, education and social development. She uses her blended background in consultancy, solution design and capacity building for public, private and not-for-profit organisations to lead on business development for the research and consultancy team at Education Development Trust. Astrid also carries out short-term technical assignments in the UK and overseas. She is focussing on harnessing and building expertise in teacher-led randomised controlled trials (RCTs) as a way of increasing the evidence-base on what works and as a powerful tool to unleash voice and agency for teachers.
The non-state sector provides the only meaningful option for children’s learning in many parts of the world – particularly in low-income countries where government-run systems are often overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the demand for education – but it receives little attention in policy and research.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the non-state sector has been heavily affected by lockdowns, school closures and the wider impact of the pandemic on economies and societies. Yet, to date, relatively little has been published about how non-state schools have responded to these challenges. In response, Education Development Trust and the Global Schools Forum have worked in partnership, studying schools in 17 countries, to generate an understanding of the impact of the pandemic on these schools, to investigate examples of creative practices schools have used to adapt, and to highlight the areas in which intervention is needed to help sustain the sector, and with it, the learning of millions of children who rely on it.
Key findings from the research
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More than 3 in 4 schools surveyed are experiencing financial difficulties, caused by reduced income from fees, and a need to meet costs associated with delivering learning in new ways during closures and implementing safety measures prior to re-opening. Networks with fewer schools, schools with lower enrolment, and schools that charge lower fees reported the greatest impact on their income.
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More than 1 in 3 schools surveyed reported that teachers had resigned or been made redundant during the pandemic. Many teachers had not received their full salary. It remains to be seen whether teachers will return to the profession once schools re-open, or whether this will have longer-term implications for the supply of teachers in low-income countries, compounding the “learning crisis” that existed prior to COVID-19.
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School leaders surveyed estimated that children had lost between 5 and 8 months of learning, a figure that will inevitably have increased since the data was collected in April 2021.
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Schools reported mixed experiences in maintaining students' access to learning during closures. Whilst over half of school leaders surveyed in India reported that the majority of their students were able to keep learning during closures, this benchmark was achieved by only 11 out of 60 Nigerian schools surveyed and 3 of 60 Kenyan schools surveyed. Among GSF school operators, 21 of out 22 maintained learners' access to education for the majority of students, with 14 of these reporting that access was maintained for more than three quarters of their students.
Read the full report for more detail and our policy recommendations.