The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on education systems around the world, and Sub-Saharan Africa has been no exception. In an effort to understand the specific impact of the pandemic on education in this region, the World Bank has published a new blog post titled “Learning loss from Covid in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Malawi.”
The blog post, written by Salman Asim, Ravinder Casley Gera, and Archit Singhal, presents the findings of a study on the status of public schools in Malawi and the impact of Covid-19 on education in the country. The study, which was conducted in close collaboration with the Center for Education and Development (C4ED) and the Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR), collected high-quality data from more than 20,000 students.
The study found that the closure of schools due to the pandemic has had a significant impact on learning outcomes in Malawi. Students who were in their final year of primary school at the time of the pandemic scored significantly lower on reading and mathematics assessments than students who were in the same grade in the previous year. The study also found that the learning loss was more severe for girls than for boys.
The authors of the blog post note that the findings of the study highlight the importance of addressing the issue of learning loss in Malawi and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. They suggest that targeted interventions, such as targeted support for students who have fallen behind, may be necessary to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on education in the region.
C4ED is proud to have played a role in this important study and we hope that the findings will inform policy decisions and efforts to support education in Malawi and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We encourage readers to read the full blog post and learn more about the impact of Covid-19 on education in Malawi and the region.
We are committed to continue to collect high quality data and analyze the impact of Covid-19 on education in Sub-Saharan Africa, as we believe that this is crucial to support policy decisions and mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic on education in the region.