The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption of education systems around the world. Over 1.6 billion students have been forced out of school as of March 2020. This raises concerns about learning losses, increased dropout rates, and lack of access to nutritious meals for many children. Remote learning strategies are being implemented, but poor and rural students often lack internet access and devices. Education systems must find ways to continue delivering lessons and meals to all students, while supporting engagement and well-being during this difficult time.

1. EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES OF THE COVID19 PANDEMIC
We are in the midst of a massive educational crisis, which could be one
of the greatest challenges to world education in our lifetime. The COVID-19
pandemic has forced over 1.6 billion children and youth out of school in 161
nations as of March 28, 2020. This equates to about 80% of all enrolled
students on the planet. We were already in the midst of a worldwide learning
crisis, with many pupils attending school but failing to gain the core skills
required for success in life. Before the epidemic, the World Bank's "Learning
Poverty" indicator – the percentage of children who cannot read and
understand at the age of ten – stood at 53% of children in low- and middle-
income nations. If we don't act quickly, the pandemic has the potential to
aggravate these effects much more. What should we be worried about in this
phase of the crisis that might have an immediate impact on children and
youth? (1) Losses in learning (2) Increased dropout rates (3) Children missing
their most important meal of the day. Moreover, most countries have very
unequal education systems, and these negative impacts will be felt
disproportionately by poor children. When it rains, it pours for them.
COVID-19 has caused significant disruption in the educational system,
which schools must address as quickly as feasible. The goal is to create a
resilient learning system based on evidence and needs, so that proactive and
responsive interventions can be implemented. Coping with COVID-19's
effects in higher education institutions necessitates a diversity of viewpoints
among stakeholders. The administration, which supports the teaching-
learning processes, the students, who are the system's core, faculty members
or teachers who perform various academic roles, parents and guardians who
share the responsibility of learning continuity, the community, and external
partners who contribute to the completion of the students' educational
requirements should all be consulted. These intricate identities demonstrate
that a higher education institution has a vast number of stakeholders (Illanes
et al., 2020; Smalley, 2020). Educational system must begin to comprehend
and identify the medium- and long-term effects of the epidemic on teaching,
learning, student experience, infrastructure, operations, and personnel in the
context of the pandemic. Scenario analysis and an awareness of each setting

2. are required to meet the present difficulties they face (Frankki et al., 2020). In
times of crisis, school must be robust. In the educational system,
resiliency is defined as the ability to overcome a variety of difficulties,
including trauma, tragedy, and crises, and emerge stronger, wiser, and more
personally powerful (Henderson, 2012). The educational system must
prepare to build strategies for moving forward and dealing with the
challenges.
Learning. Starting the school year late or interrupting it (depending on if
they live in the southern or northern hemisphere) completely disrupts the
lives of many children, their parents, and teachers. A lot can be done to at
least reduce the impact through remote learning strategies. Richer countries
are better prepared to move to online learning strategies, although with a lot
of effort and challenges for teachers and parents. In middle-income and
poorer countries, the situation is very mixed and if we do not act
appropriately, the vast inequality of opportunities that exists – egregious and
unacceptable to start with – will be amplified. Many children do not have a
desk, books, internet connectivity, a laptop at home, or supportive parents.
Others do. What we need to avoid – or minimize as much as possible – is for
those differences in opportunities to expand and cause the crisis to have an
even larger negative effect on poor children’s learning.
Fortunately, several countries are exhibiting a high level of creativity.
Many education agencies are concerned, and rightly so, that depending
solely on online solutions may limit access to children from wealthier
households. In most nations, the best method is to use all available delivery
options using the current infrastructure. Use internet tools to ensure that
some students and presumably most teachers have access to lesson plans,
videos, tutorials, and other materials. Podcasts and other data-light resources
are also available. Working with telecommunication firms to implement zero-
rate policies can also make it easier for students to download learning
materials to their smartphones, which are becoming increasingly common.
Radio and TV are also very powerful tools. The advantage we have today, is
that through social networks, WhatsApp or SMS, agency of education can

3. communicate effectively with parents and teachers and provide guidelines,
instructions and structure to the learning process, using content delivered by
radio or TV. Remote learning is not only about online learning, but about
mixed media learning, with the objective of reaching as many students as
possible today. Technology provides innovative and resilient solutions in
times of crisis to combat disruption and helps people to communicate and
even work virtually without the need for face-to-face interaction. This leads
to many system changes in organizations as they adopt new technology for
interacting and working (Mark and Semaan, 2008). However, technological
challenges like internet connectivity especially for places without signals can
be the greatest obstacle in teaching and learning continuity especially for
academic institutions who have opted for online learning as a teaching
modality. Thus, the alternative models of learning during the pandemic
should be supported by a well-designed technical and logistical
implementation plan (Edizon, 2020). Teachers quickly turn to blended and
modular learning as the most practical manner of delivering lessons in order
to solve class disruption and improve learning continuity. Through Modular
distance learning they have flexible study hours, students can study in their
own time – after working hours, for a few hours during the day or over
weekends. This means that studies can fit around regular responsibilities,
without sacrificing time for work, family or learning. Some countries will be
able to improve the digital abilities of its instructors. Radio and television
stations will realize their critical role in advancing national education goals –
and, ideally, improve the quality of their programming as a result of their
enormous social duty. Parents will be more involved in their children's
education, and education ministries will have a better awareness of the gaps
and problems (in connectivity, hardware, curriculum integration, and teacher
preparedness) that exist in effectively using technology and will be able to
address them. All of these can help a country's future educational system.

4. Offering students, the chance to learn at their own pace comes with many
advantages. There are no restrictions set forth by classmates either, and they
don’t have to worry about feeling like a know-it-all in front of others. Because
remote learning is self-paced, students can review the material as often as
needed and advance past already known subjects. Students are required to
stay at home and move their classes to the same area under this new learning
arrangement.
Staying engaged. Maintaining the engagement of children, particularly
young secondary school students is critical. Dropout rates are still very high
in many countries, and a long period of disengagement can result in a further
increase. Going to school is about more than just learning math and science;
it's also about forming social bonds and interacting with peers. It's all about
becoming a citizen and honing social skills. That is why it is critical to maintain
contact with the school in every way possible. This is also an opportunity for
all kids to improve their socio-emotional abilities and learn more about how
to contribute to society as a citizen. In that endeavor, the role of parents and
family, which has always been crucial, is crucial. As a result, a large portion of
the assistance that education agency provide through the media should also
go to parents. Radio, television, and SMS messaging can all be utilized to
give people recommendations and advise on how to improve their lives. One
emerging reality as a result of the world health crisis is the migration to online
learning modalities to mitigate the risk of face-to-face interaction.
Universities are forced to migrate from face-to-face delivery to online
modality as a result of the pandemic. In the Philippines, most universities
including Cebu Normal University have resorted to online learning during
school lockdowns. However, this sudden shift has resulted in problems
especially for learners without access to technology. When online learning
modality is used as a result of the pandemic, the gap between those who
have connectivity and those without widened. The continuing academic
engagement has been a challenge for teachers and students due to access
and internet connectivity. Families frequently engaged their children in
learning activities in the majority of cases; nevertheless, diverse patterns were
identified across social categories. Families with low socioeconomic status

5. and those who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods had less opportunities
to study. This could be owing to the difficulties that families in socially and
economically disadvantaged situations have in obtaining the financial and
social resources required to offer a rich early home learning environment.
The data show that education is still sought in economically depressed areas,
although with greater difficulties. Due to the restrictions in social life,
students can feel anxious, scared or have negative emotions during the
pandemic. it was revealed that it is a critical factor for schools to create an
interaction between students and teachers and to provide psychological
guidance along with providing education materials and distance education
for students during such pandemics.
School administrators revealed that technology leadership and crisis
management skills are important needs in the pandemic process and that
their competencies should be improved in these areas. Characteristics and
roles of good education, good school, ideal manager, and ideal teacher
would change after the pandemic. Within the new normal, the situation
presents a unique challenge to every educational leader’s decision-making
process.
Meals. In many parts of the world, school-based feeding programs (SBFP)
provide children with their most nutritious meal of the day. They are essential
for the cognitive development and well-being. These programs are complex
logistical and administrative endeavors. It is not easy, but countries should
find the way to provide those meals using the school buildings in an
organized fashion, community buildings or networks, or, if needed, distribute
directly to the families. If delivering meals or food is not feasible logistically,
cash transfer programs should be expanded or implemented to compensate
the parents. Planning is needed, but one has to be ready to flexibly adjust
plans, as the information we have about the likely paths of the pandemic
change day by day, influenced by the uncertainty around which mitigation
measures countries are taking. The process of reopening of schools might be
gradual, as authorities will want to reduce agglomeration or the possibility

6. of a second wave of the pandemic, which can affect some countries. In that
uncertain context, it might be better to make decisions assuming a longer,
rather than a shorter scenario. The good news is that many of the
improvements, initiatives, and investments that school systems will have to
make might have a positive long-lasting effect.
During the COVID epidemic, school leadership teams are critical in
fostering environments that allow teachers, students, and their families to
stay connected and learn, whether at school or at home. They can create
community, cohesion, and equity around schools in times of
uncertainty. Those in educational leadership positions around schools, either
at the local, regional or national level can provide support, technology and
guidelines in preparation for next steps. Schools, their teachers and leaders
require those in education leadership positions around them to provide
clarity and vision in terms of learning and curriculum requirements, health
and safety guidelines, training and resources to be able to define learning
solutions that will allow their schools to flourish in times of uncertainty. If
these are available and well communicated, schools can be trusted to shape
their responses and get on with education in their schools, whether live,
remote or a combination that will allow their students to continue
learning. School leaders and teachers engaged with creativity and
professionalism to maintain their links with students. Without the physical
school, the role of school leaders had to focus on preserving the school
community, finding the right technology to connect teachers, their students
and families, and making sure that the learning was adapted and coherent.
Underpinning the learning, they had to respond to staff and student well-
being. Education leaders in schools and at the system level have the
opportunity to consider how to weave in lessons from the COVID-19
pandemic to reimagine the delivery of education in ways that are suited to
the 21st century. They have done it quickly in times of need, and can now
take a bit more time to reimagine and reshape the future. Now is the time to
rise to the educational leadership challenge.

7. The mission of all education systems is the same. It is to overcome the
learning crisis we were already living and respond to the pandemic we are all
facing. The challenge today is to reduce as much as possible the negative
impact this pandemic will have on learning and schooling and build on this
experience to get back on a path of faster improvement in learning. As
education systems cope with this crisis, they must also be thinking of how
they can recover stronger, with a renewed sense of responsibility of all actors
and with a better understanding and sense of urgency of the need to close
the gap in opportunities and assuring that all children have the same chances
for a quality education.

8. REFERENCES
Beatriz, P. (2020) Education Leadership in Times of Uncertainty: Rising to the
Challenge. Avaliable at: https://www.wise-qatar.org/education-leadership-in-times-of-
uncertainty-rising-to-the-challenge/
Edizon, F. (2020). Rewiring Higher Education in the Time of COVID-19 and beyond.
Henderson, N. (2012). What Is Resiliency and Why Is it So Important? | Resiliency in
Action. Available at: https://www.resiliency.com/what-is-resiliency/.
Illanes, P., Law, J., Sarakatsannis, J., Sanghvi, S., and Mendy, A. (2020). Coronavirus
and the Campus: How Can US Higher Education Organize to Respond?. Chicago,
Illinois: McKinsey and Company.
Mark, G., and Semaan, B. (2008). Resilience in Collaboration: Technology as a Resource
for New Patterns of Action,” in Proceedings of the 2008 ACM conference on computer
supported cooperative work, San Diego, CA, November 8–12, 2008 (CSCW08:
Computer Supported Cooperative Work), pp. 137–
146. https://doi.org/10.1145/1460563.1460585
Royel J., Front. Educ., 23 July 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.678692
Saavdra, J. (2020) Educational Challenges. Education for Global Management.
Retrieved from https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/educational-challenges
Smalley, A. (2020). “Higher Education Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19),”
in National Conference of State Legislatures. Available
at: https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/higher-education-responses-to-
coronavirus-covid-19.aspx.