The UN has recently updated the context of its SDGs to reflect the shifting socioeconomic and health and wellbeing landscape in the wake of COVID-19. While the world is still in the grip of the pandemic and constantly adapting its response to this unimaginable crisis, the development sector has been forced to look at its pre-pandemic strategies, while assessing how to adapt. All stakeholders must now consider new ways in which we can tackle not just the immediate impact of COVID-19, but also the reality of this unconceivable setback to achieving systematic change.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the education sector around the world, and will continue to do so for some time to come. School closures alone are estimated by UNESCO (in 2020) to have affected over 1.1 billion students worldwide. While the pandemic has affected all corners of life across every community, education in the developing world has had its own unique set of challenges, from lack of access to remote learning channels to little financial support for independent low fee private schools (LFPS).