COVID-19 has caused the largest education disruption in history and exposed the scale to which education systems were unprepared for crises. Country-wide school closures were a near-universal policy response deemed necessary in the first phase. However, they have serious negative effects and deepen inequities.

This brief recommends crisis-sensitive educational planning with a strong equity focus to ensure education continuity and suggests actions for the G20 countries and donors to rebuild and support resilient education systems, moving from first response to recovery.