Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures

This survey by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank seeks to collect information on national education responses to school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire is designed for Ministry of Education officials at central or decentralized level in charge of school education. The questionnaire does not cover higher education or technical and vocational education and training. Analysis of results will allow for policy learning across the diversity of country settings in order to better inform local/national responses and prepare for the reopening of schools.

The survey will be run on a regular basis to ensure that the latest impact and responses are captured. In light of the current education crisis, the COVID-19 education response coordinated by UNESCO with our partners is deemed urgent.

  • A first wave of data collection started in May and lasted until June 2020.
  • A second wave of data collection lasted from July to October 2020.
  • A third wave of data collection will start soon

We would like to thank all of you who participated and help the global community better understand the impact of the pandemic!

News and Events

To cite: UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank (2020). What have we learnt? Overview of findings from a survey of ministries of education on national responses to COVID-19. Paris, New York, Washington D.C.: UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank

What Have We Learnt?

Overview of findings from a survey of ministries of education on national responses to COVID-19

As part of the coordinated global education response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank conducted a Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures. In this joint report, the results of the first two rounds of data collection administered by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) were analysed. They cover government responses to school closures from pre-primary to secondary education.

Download the report (English)

Executive summary available in French, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese

UNESCO press release

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank would like to thank all the ministries of education that contributed to this data collection effort. These survey results enable the sharing of experiences and good practices during the world’s largest global experiment in education. We would also like to thank the contributors to the UNICEF Education Thematic Fund for their support and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) for the support provided through their accelerated funding response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Webinar series: Framework for Reopening Schools

On 4 November, the results from the two first rounds of data collection were showcased as part of the webinar series on Framework for Reopening Schools, sharing the lessons learnt from government responses to school closures from pre-primary to secondary education.

Webinar concept note

Presentation by Silvia Montoya, UIS

First round of data collection (April to June)

The first round of data collection was completed in mid-June.

Access key results from the 1st round!

You will find here various documents for this wave, as well as some outcomes from the survey.

Technical Note

Questionnaires

The survey questionnaire was available online in English, French, Spanish, and Russia. The questionnaires are available in all languages:

Data

The database is available to all:

Please cite the data as follows:

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), based on UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank Survey on National Education. Responses to COVID-19 School Closures, 1st Iteration. 2020. http://tcg.uis.unesco.org/survey-education-covid-school-closures

Second round of data collection (July to October)

The second round of data collection was completed in October.

Access key results from the 2nd round!

You will find here various documents for this wave, as well as some outcomes from the survey.

Technical Note

Questionnaires

The survey questionnaire was available online in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. The questionnaires are available in languages.

Data

Data files are publicly available to all:

Please cite the data as follows:

UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank (2020). Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures, round 2. Paris, New York, Washington D.C.: UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank.