*The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of IDRC or its Board of Governors. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

In the last twenty-five years, Latin America experienced progress in reducing inequality and poverty, and their intergenerational persistence. The COVID-19 pandemic put this progress at a serious risk.

Of the various channels by which the current situation is going to impact the future, education is perhaps the most important one. According to UNICEF, 97% of children were out of the classroom during 2020. While schools shut their doors for children of all socioeconomic backgrounds, their ability to continue learning depends on their family environment.

Governments across the region have implemented a series of measures – whose scale varies significantly across countries – such as TV, radio, printouts, and online learning schemes, as well as income-support programs. These initiatives, however, might have fallen short from preventing severe reductions in learning or dropping out of school altogether, especially for disadvantaged children.

The aim of this policy brief is rising the awareness about the dramatic consequences of the pandemic on learning gaps and the reproduction of today’s inequalities in future labor markets, while contributing to the discussion on how to avoid the potentially most lasting scar from COVID-19.

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