During the current pandemic there is an increased risk of violence towards children when isolated at home. Interventions include contextualised parenting lessons in parallel to standard remotely-delivered lessons for the students, the raising of overall awareness and support for social services where necessary.
There are significant risks of students falling out of the system because of a lack of learning during lockdown, and many of them entering the economy instead. Girls are particularly vulnerable because of issues around pregnancy and forced marriage. Interventions include keeping the link between education and the children to prevent them dropping out by targeting the most vulnerable and marginalised with appropriate educational content. Critically, access to social and emotional support and learning and mental health and psychological support to ensure the most vulnerable and those most affected by violence can recover and engage with learning will need to be a key part of recovery and reopening plans.
Prevention of virus spread on return to school is another key issue, worsened by overcrowding and lack of resources, especially WASH facilities, especially affecting girls and female teachers. Interventions include fumigation, Covid-19 targeted sanitation and the improvement/introduction of WASH systems. Mitigators of overcrowding could include a phased return or school shifts to reduce class sizes. Support can be provided through systems strengthening programmes that build the capacity of governments to plan and use data and evidence to pivot and adapt to the changing situation.
