Independent evaluation of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II (GEC II) – evaluation study 1: Effects of Covid-19 on access and learning in the GEC II; final report

As Covid-19 spread rapidly in early 2020, Governments around the world closed schools to keep children safe. By June 2020, more than two thirds of the world’s children were affected by school closures (UNHCR, 2020). This study aims to look at the impact of school closures on girls’ learning levels and understand what happened to their education while schools were closed. Alongside understanding what happened, the study also tests new ways of predicting which girls are at risk of dropping out of school. This study was conducted as part of the independent evaluation (IE) of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II1 (GEC II) Programme and focuses on GEC II projects in Kenya and Nepal, which were selected for inclusion in the study. Specifically, the study aims to answer the following questions: 1.) How have GEC projects sought to provide continued access to learning opportunities during school closures? 2.) How did girls’ learning levels change during the Covid-19 period? 3.) Which girls are most at risk of not returning to school, and are GEC projects successfully identifying them? How useful is a machine learning approach in identifying them? 4.) How are GEC projects supporting girls to re-enter formal schooling (or alternative pathways), and with what effects on girls’ access to learning opportunities?