Building Resilient Education Systems in Southern Africa Amidst Global Crises

Strategic Insights -

Global crises have created unprecedented challenges for education systems worldwide, affecting millions of students, particularly in southern Africa. Higher education researcher Emmanuel Ojo conducted an in-depth review of 5,511 peer-reviewed articles to understand what the research suggests about making education systems more resilient. His findings reveal that vulnerable populations, including marginalized communities, are disproportionately affected by school closures, funding diversions, infrastructure destruction, and student displacement.

Key Takeaways:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic alone affected more than 1.6 billion students worldwide, with those in rural and informal settlements being completely cut off from education (Unesco).
  • Climate change compounds educational inequalities, with climate disasters having a disproportionate impact on schooling for millions in low-income countries (Unicef).
  • Southern Africa's geographic exposure to climate disasters combines with pre-existing economic inequalities, making the region's education systems vulnerable to crisis impacts (Ojo).
  • Research representation is unequal, with South African researchers dominating, and other nations making limited contributions, creating blind spots in understanding context-specific challenges and solutions (Ojo).
  • Investing in educational resilience can save up to $17 trillion in lost lifetime earnings for affected students globally (World Bank).
  • Failure to build resilient education systems leads to negative effects that extend far beyond the crisis period, including increased dropout rates, child marriage, early pregnancy, and youth unemployment (Ojo).
  • Spending on educational resilience avoids these costs, making it a crucial investment for southern African nations (Ojo).

Statistics:

  • 1.6 billion students worldwide were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (Unesco).
  • 5,511 peer-reviewed articles were reviewed to understand what the research suggests about making education systems more resilient (Ojo).
  • The World Bank estimates that learning losses from the Covid-19 pandemic could result in up to $17 trillion in lost lifetime earnings for affected students globally.
  • The number of educational research studies increased from 229 in 2019 to nearly double that in 2020, with continued rapid growth thereafter (Ojo).

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- Africa -- By Emmanuel Ojo, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand (https://theconversation.com/global-crises-have-hit-education-hard-24-years-of-research-offers-a-way-forward-for-southern-africa-251833)
  • Unesco
  • Unicef
  • Ojo, E. (2023). Global Crises Have Hit Education Hard: 24 Years of Research Offers a Way Forward for Southern Africa (https://theconversation.com/global-crises-have-hit-education-hard-24-years-of-research-offers-a-way-forward-for-southern-africa-251833)
  • World Bank