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In Mauritania, many learners struggle with French, one of the official languages of instruction at school. This language barrier hinders student progress with the curriculum, increasing the chances of leaving school. This risk disproportionately affects adolescent girls due to discriminatory social norms undermining their continued education, even in urban areas of the capital, Nouakchott. To address these challenges, UNICEF Mauritania, in collaboration with the Akelius Foundation and national partners, has initiated a blended course to improve French proficiency for girls in a disadvantaged neighbourhood of Nouakchott. The blended course, which takes place at a community-based facility during afternoons, integrates regular teaching with the offline use of the Akelius Digital Learning app. This research brief presents evidence on how the blended course supported vulnerable girls' learning and other socio-emotional skills. It highlights lessons learnt for practitioners in implementing digital learning in resource-constrained environments, including the reliance on offline solutions and the co-design of digital content with the teachers.

Learning remains largely out of reach for many of the most vulnerable children around the world. In low- and middle-income countries, an estimated 56% of children cannot read a simple text by the age of 10. This share is projected to rise to 70% after the pandemic. The school closures imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak, coupled with an enduring tendency in low-income countries to allocate a limited share of the national education budget to the most vulnerable, are further widening inequalities in the global learning crisis landscape. The Let Us Learn (LUL) initiative implements innovative education programmes to improve learning for the most vulnerable children in five countries with high levels of out-of-school children: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Liberia, Madagascar and Nepal. This report documents the outcomes, lessons learned and recommendations based on the experience of the initiative across four types of learning programmes spanning the education lifecycle: (1) pre-primary education; (2) accelerated learning pathways; (3) programmes to reduce barriers to access and stay in formal school; and (4) vocational training.

In Afghanistan, 93% of children cannot read a simple text by the age of 10. Education is not available to everyone, especially for girls and children in remote areas. A form of community-based education, called Accelerated Learning Centers (ALCs), can help close the distance barrier and meet the needs of out-of-school children and girls. In May 2021, an assessment of foundational literacy and numeracy skills of ALC students and nearby government school students was conducted. Results show that children at ALCs are learning at similar levels or better compared with children who attend government schools. This report provides insight into practices to improve education in rural areas in Afghanistan.

One tool that many families own, across the globe, is a basic mobile phone. The use of low-cost basic mobile phones for educational purposes in humanitarian settings is critical where access to connectivity and higher cost devices is limited. The portability of mobile phones, combined with their communication features, offers multiple uses to support education in emergency (EiE). This report is the second of a two-part series that aims to provide practitioners with guidance and resources on, and lessons learned for, using mobile technology in EiE settings. The series draws from a review of the existing literature with feedback from and interviews with EiE practitioners. The first piece of this series -- "On Call: The Use of Mobile Phones for Learning in Emergencies" (ED624512) -- explores how basic mobile phones can be used to support EiE learning programmes and teacher training. It emphasizes key practices that education practitioners have adopted to improve the equity and safety of mobile phone-based programmes. The present report, the second in this series, instead provides guidance on planning and delivering learning assessments through mobile technology.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education systems around the world, resulting in an unprecedented emergency with school closures affecting 1.6 billion learners (Azevedo et al., 2021). This brought to light the need for resilient education systems that can provide education during emergencies and school closures (UNICEF, 2021). The challenge of reaching and educating children when schooling is interrupted is not new for education in emergencies (EiE) practitioners who develop and implement programmes in complex crises with limited resources. One tool that many families own is a mobile phone. Low-cost basic mobile phones can be used in humanitarian settings to support remote learning and are critical where access to connectivity and higher-cost devices such as laptops are limited. The portability of mobile phones, combined with their communication features, offers multiple uses in EiE. This report explores the use of mobile phones in EiE settings by combining a review of the existing literature with feedback from, and interviews with EiE practitioners on two critical questions: (1) How can basic mobile phones be used to support EiE learning programmes and teacher training?; and (2) What are the key practices undertaken by education practitioners to improve the equity and safety of mobile phone-based education programmes? Implementing an education programme would be incomplete without a learning assessment. Moreover, can mobile phones themselves be used to measure learning in EiE settings? While this question lies beyond the scope of this report, it is investigated in the second report in the series: "On Call: Using Mobile Technologies to Measure Learning in Emergencies" (ED624513). The complementary report outlines the key implementation steps and uses of mobile devices to support learning assessment needs in emergencies.

The implementation of remote learning?in Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19 school closures?confirmed that the divide?in access to electricity and?technology?remained?a?major hurdle?for governments across the region?to serve all children.?School closures risk widening?existing learning gaps as?private schools were?more prepared to use technology?for remote learning and children from wealthier households?received more support at home?while schools were closed.?As?countries in the region reopen their schools,?it is vital that governments incorporate key?lessons learned?to?improve?the resilience?and equity?of the education systems. This report?presents evidence on remote learning during the COVID-19?school closures in Latin America and the Caribbean?to help guide decision-makers to build more effective, sustainable and resilient education systems for current and future crises.

Countries in West and Central Africa strived to implement national responses to continue learning activities during school closures. These responses relied on a mix of channels, including online platforms, broadcast media, mobile phones and printed learning packs. Several barriers, however, still prevented many children and adolescents in the region from taking advantage of these opportunities, resulting in learning loss in a region where almost 50 per cent of children do not achieve minimum reading skills at the end of the primary cycle. This report builds on existing evidence to highlight key lessons learned in continuing education for all at times of mass school closures and provides actionable recommendations to build resilience into national education systems in view of potential future crises.

Malagasy adolescents face severe challenges in accessing and completing basic education. Among those students who complete the primary cycle, one in four does not transition into lower secondary school. Economic constraints among vulnerable households coupled with low-quality education result in widespread dropout and poor learning outcomes. Acknowledging these multidimensional barriers, UNICEF Madagascar leveraged funds from the Let Us Learn (LUL) programme to implement a two-pronged strategy to support Malagasy children in accessing and continuing lower secondary school. The Catch-up Classes provide out-of-school adolescents with a learning pathway to build the foundational literacy and numeracy skills they need to resume studying in formal school. Conditional cash transfers target families with children who are at risk of abandoning school after completing the primary cycle. This brief builds on programme monitoring data, impact evaluations and qualitative insights from the field to highlight lessons learnt and actionable recommendations for accessing and continuing vulnerable children's secondary education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every aspect of society. In mid-April 2020, 192 countries had closed their schools, putting 9 out of 10 enrolled children out of school. These closures disproportionately affected marginalized children, worsening existing inequities across education systems worldwide. This brief draws on the experience of five UNICEF education country programmes supported by the Let Us Learn (LUL) initiative, to document tangible lessons in adapting education programmes to support the most marginalized children during school and learning centre closures. The evidence in this brief stems from a series of semi-structured interviews with Education and Child Protection specialists, as well as a document review of available COVID-19 response studies, in the five LUL-supported UNICEF Country Offices.

Italy was the first country in Europe to implement a nationwide lockdown. Children and their families lived in nearly complete isolation for almost two months. Students missed 65 days of school compared to an average of 27 missed days among high-income countries worldwide. This prolonged break is of concern, as even short breaks in schooling can cause significant loss of learning for children and lead to educational inequalities over time. At least 3 million Italian students may not have been reached by remote learning due to a lack of internet connectivity or devices at home. This report explores children's and parents' experiences of remote learning during the lockdown in Italy, drawing on data collected from 11 European countries (and coordinated by the European Commission's Joint Research Center). It explores how children's access and use of digital technologies changed during the pandemic; highlights how existing inequalities might undermine remote learning opportunities, even among those with internet access; and provides insights on how to support children's remote learning in the future. [This report was produced with OssCom.]