Nicaragua COVID-19 Education Sector Response

The Project Development Objectives (PDOs) are to support MINED’s COVID-19 response programs conducive to reducing learning gaps; and develop socioemotional skills for vulnerable groups. To respond to the COVID-19 crisis in the medium and longer-term, MINED is implemented the National Strategy for Basic and Secondary Education to Face the COVID-19 Challenge to which this proposed Project is aligned to. The strategy, with a “nobody stays behind” vision, articulates four stages that are overlapped. Stage I: Preventive education for healthcare in the context of face-to-face classes, covering the current situation of public schools functioning with certain limitations due to the pandemic; Stage II: Support of remote with emphasis on equity and inclusion, referring to the potential phase of remote education in case public school closure is formally declared by the national sanitary authority; Stage III: Mitigation of the impact generated by the pandemic on the return to classes, referring to the period when all schools re-open and regular classes are back; and Stage IV: Resilience, Learn and prepare for future challenges, that is a continuous stage-oriented to build a more resilient education system. Girl's needs were specifically addressed under Component 2: Support programs to develop socioemotional skills in vulnerable schools. The support provided had a gender-perspective as girls and young women are a group whose vulnerabilities are heightened by emergencies and disasters (UNFPA, 2020); modules will be designed for school staff and parents with information and materials about gender-associated risks and guidelines to mitigate them.