Supporting Second Chance Education and Reaching Students at Risk of Dropout through Open Schools

Today, we are focusing on Open Schools, an intervention that shows promise to support second chance education and reach students at risk to dropout. The pandemic highlighted the focus back on online learning, which was the preferred method of remote learning among high income countries but was also offered as part of multichannel strategies by middle- and low-income countries. However, online learning, a component of the idea of virtual schools, has been used across many countries, such as Namibia, Botswana, and the United States before the pandemic To tell us more about this initiative, we are delighted to have with us Himdat Bayusuf, Tony Mays, and Alex Twinomugisha, in conversation with Maria Barron. Himdat Bayusuf is an Education Specialist at the World Bank, focusing on higher education and skills development in the Western and Central Africa region. Tony Mays is Education Specialist in Open Schooling at the Commonwealth of Learning. Alex Twinomugisha is a Senior Education Technology Specialist in the World Bank working on technology in education issues. Maria Barron Rodriguez is a Research Analyst at the World Bank Group's Global Education Practice, where she is a member of the EdTech global team.