GLOBAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO COVID-19 CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION

Abstract

The article deals with the COVID-19 pandemic impact, that has swept the world in 2020, and has stricken a blow to the education systems of the countries. As the title implies the article describes the world community’s response to pandemic challenges in education. It is especially noted that the pandemic has transformed the established learning formats and techniques at all levels of education. A mention should be made that international organizations have made a huge contribution to find out the countermeasures to COVID-19. The key international organizations acted as agents of the educational community, and proposed and implemented universal tools for learning in a coronavirus crisis. It should be emphasized that the authors have analyzed the published materials of international organizations (UNESCO, OECD, EU, World Bank, etc.), nongovernmental organizations (The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), academic works. The paper examines the activities that were implemented during February-May 2020. It is worth mentioning that many countries all over the world have introduced an integrated approach to organizing the learning process in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, combining online learning with other traditional tools. An important part of the global community response to COVID-19 in education has been the allocation of targeted funding for the purchase and provision of computers and digital devices, as well as access to the Internet for students, especially from low-income families. Equally important is the direct financial support of low-income families by governments, as well as cooperation with parents. In the conclusions it is stressed the absence in some countries or underdevelopment of the legal and regulatory framework for the transformation of the educational process into online platforms; inflexibility of the authorities' response to changes in educational reality and delays in adapting the content of education; lack of ICT skills; lack of technical capabilities; complexity of some subjects transformation; parents’ unwillingness to support children in online learning; negative impacts on students’ healthcare.