Among one of the many effects the covid-19 pandemic has had on our lives, the impact on education delivery is one of considerable concern. In the presence of continued uncertainty around the return to normalcy, it is worth exploring and debating how long schools can remain shut, the viability of digital delivery, and what alternate models can be deployed to ensure that the underprivileged do not lose out on learning in the long run.

To discuss some of the ways in which schooling in Pakistan has been impacted by the pandemic, the Consortium for Development Policy Research organized a webinar on “Covid-19 and its Impact on Education Delivery” on 28^th January, 2021 from 4:00-5:00 PM in collaboration with Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and the Institute for Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS).

The webinar focused on the following points:

• Engagement mechanisms for education during school closures, the impact on low-income families, and compensating for learning losses in a shorter school year
• The differential impact on learning between boys and girls and mechanisms to bridge the gap between girls and boys
• The experience of TCF, the Punjab government (PMIU) & ITA with changes in teaching modes and the impacts on learning

The panelists included:

• Mr. Ijaz Bajwa – Head of Program Evaluation and Research, The Citizens Foundation;
• Mr. Qaiser Rashid – PD Project Management and Implementation Unit, School Education Department;
• Ms. Baela Jamil –  CEO, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi.

The discussion was moderated by Dr. Faisal Bari, Senior Research Fellow, IDEAS.