The sudden shift to online learning due to COVID-19 has worsened existing inequalities in education. Blended learning complemented by adequate resources can help minimise this digital divide.

The recommendations in this brief were gathered from an online workshop in October 2020 that was organised by The HEAD Foundation and ADB. The workshop involved policymakers, teacher educators, and school leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Vietnam.

This policy brief proposes reforms in primary and secondary education as developing Asia copes with the impact of COVID-19. It explores blended learning modalities that can be applied beyond the pandemic.

About this Policy Brief

This policy brief is a product of Meeting the Challenges of the New Normal in School Education, a professional development programme co-organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The HEAD Foundation. It presents short-, medium-, and long- term actions to anticipate, prepare and reform K-12 education systems for the ‘New Normal’ – a post COVID-19 world. It was written by Dr N Varaprasad, Principal Consultant; with contributions from Professor S. Gopinathan, Academic Advisor, The HEAD Foundation, Dr Brajesh Panth, Chief of Education Sector Group, ADB, and Mr Vignesh Naidu, Director, Operations, The HEAD Foundation.