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As the COVID-19 pandemic swept Nicaragua, the country’s education sector was already facing several challenges: numerous out-of-school children, learning outcomes in need of improvement, and low enrollment in the first and second levels of early education, due to the cultural effects of parents deciding not to enroll their children because they are very young.

The Ministry of Education prioritized tackling two of the most immediate negative impacts of COVID-19: the worsening of education outcomes and the decline in well-being for the most vulnerable students.

A GPE COVID-19 grant of US$7 million for the period 2020-2022, with the World Bank as grant agent, supported Nicaragua’s efforts to reduce learning loss and develop socioemotional skills for at-risk children.

The pandemic impacted households and communities differently depending on their socioeconomic level and resilience.

Middle- and high-income families whose children attended private schools were better able to cope with challenges posed by the crisis by sustaining learning at home or through remote learning modalities.

Public school students of lower-income families coped poorly due to irregular attendance and lack of access to digital devices and connectivity. Nevertheless, MINED employed diverse approaches to accommodate students and ensure their education continuity.

Instructional booklets for students without digital connectivity

GPE funding supported the design and distribution of instructional booklets aimed at reducing learning losses for students lacking access to digital devices and connectivity both at home and at school. Of the 64 booklets, 15 were contextualized and translated into six local languages of Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast.

Instructional booklets were designed for early, primary and secondary education, and for regular, special education, multi-grade and distance education modalities, for the following subjects: mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and language and literature. Over 10,000 educational centers received 2.5 million copies of the booklets.

Training on the use of management of the instructional booklets was delivered to pedagogical advisors, school directors, and technical coordinators at regional and municipal levels and to 14,000 teachers. A survey of principals and teachers indicated that over 90% thought the booklets provided critical pedagogical support to help teachers maintain continuity of learning during the pandemic.

Expanding the use of digital tools

To expand access to digital education content, GPE funded the design of digital learning platforms and tools aligned with the instructional booklets.

The educational centers were selected based on availability of electricity, accessibility for delivery of equipment, student enrollment, and school structure and security. Each educational center has been equipped with 20 tablets, a laser projector, a printer, a router and two laptop computers.

Teachers, students, parents, community leaders, directors and pedagogical advisors at all the educational centers participated in awareness-raising workshops on the use, maintenance and protection of equipment.

Additionally, an online adaptive learning program was developed and implemented in 10 educational centers for regular primary education and 15 for multi-grade primary education. The program customizes content to students’ performance, allowing them to catch up when they fell behind.

Similar adaptive learning programs implemented in the Latin America and Caribbean region have shown improvements in learning. Over 100,000 students are expected to use the program by the end of 2023.

Socioemotional support program

Public educational centers for early (preschool) education and basic education, as well as their communities, received tools to understand and address the negative impacts resulting from adverse events, such as the pandemic, as part of a socioemotional support program.

The Ministry of Education created an online socioemotional course and trained school directors and teachers in 900 educational centers nationwide in the application of the socioemotional support strategy.

Parents attended meetings twice a month on how to accompany their children in the learning process, shared responsibility, and comprehensive sexuality education in a framework of respect of human rights, gender equity, inclusiveness, interculturality, environment, and promotion of values.

Almost 58,000 parents participated in socioemotional activities, and 36,000 provided feedback. The majority reported that the program helped improve communication within their family and helped their children express feelings.

Additional support for education

Following Nicaragua’s COVID-19 grant, GPE is supporting the country’s response to another crisis: ensuring education continuity for students and educational centers impacted by Hurricane Julia, which struck southern Nicaragua in October 2022.

Accelerated funding of US$1 million, with implementation support by UNICEF, is rebuilding multi-level early education (preschool) and primary multigrade learning spaces in rural areas.

Another GPE grant of US$7.5 million (2021-2023), with the World Bank as grant agent, is supporting Nicaragua’s efforts to strengthen teaching practices nationwide and improve the physical conditions of learning environments in early education.