Education for the most marginalised post‑COVID-19
Guidance for governments on the use of digital technologies in education
The UNESCO Chair in ICT for Development, with support from the EdTech Hub, developed this report and associated Guidance Notes in 2020 building on a series of regional and sectoral consultations with education experts.
How to use the report
The central purpose of this report is to provide recommendations to governments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic about how to use digital technologies to deliver better quality and more resilient education systems that enable everyone to have access to equitable learning opportunities.
This report contains three separate documents (Acts), each of which can be read and used independently.
- Act One is intended primarily for the most senior government officials and contains a summary of the report’s approach and main recommendations.
- Act Two provides the detailed exposition, arguments and evidence upon which these recommendations are based, and is intended primarily for those in government who are charged with implementing them.
- Act Three contains 14 Guidance Notes which provide succinct advice on delivering important distinct aspects of the overall report.
The Report
- Act One: Executive Summary – English, English audio, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Act Two: Complete report – English, French
- Act Three: Introduction to Guidance Notes – English, French
- Guidance Note 1: In the local context — using digital technologies to develop local content – English, French
- Guidance Note 2: Sharing open educational resources (OER) with Creative Commons (CC) open licenses – English, French
- Guidance Note 3: Digital technologies and girls’ education – English, English audio, French
- Guidance Note 4: Inclusion and accessible learning for people with disabilities – English, French
- Guidance Note 5: Supporting the effective use of digital technologies for learning by refugees and displaced persons – English, French
- Guidance Note 6: Digital technologies and education in small island developing states (SIDS) – English, French
- Guidance Note 7: Ensuring resilient connectivity – English, French
- Guidance Note 8: Resilient and sustainable energy solutions – English, French
- Guidance Note 9: Involving marginalised young people in the design of their own education – English, English audio, French
- Guidance Note 10: Prioritising effective and appropriate teacher training – English, French
- Guidance Note 11: Using digital technologies effectively in support of learning and training for employment – English, French
- Guidance Note 12: Ensuring rigorous monitoring and evaluation of initiatives using digital technologies for the most marginalised – English, French
- Guidance Note 13: Ensuring that children are safe when using digital technologies for learning – English, French
- Guidance Note 14: Partnerships with the private sector and civil society – English, French
- Annex: Infographics – English, French
Key findings
There are five things that a government must do once a holistic vision has been crafted that is committed to using digital technologies to create a resilient education system that provides education and learning for all:
- Create a whole society approach that delivers equity in education.
- Enable access for all to digital technologies by providing resilient funded infrastructures for learning, funded by Central Government rather than Ministries of Education.
- Be context-specific at all times, especially in terms of the technologies used in education and the content crafted for learners.
- Ensure that appropriate pedagogies are used in the practices of teaching and learning.
- Use digital technologies wisely and safely.
