Systemic deficiencies June 2, 2021 We heard repeatedly that children – who tend to escape the more severe symptoms of COVID-19 – have had to sacrifice the education to which they are entitled. The school shutdowns are part of public efforts to help protect the health and save the lives of their families, friends, teachers and those in their communities. It is a trade-off students usually made willingly, but at a loss nonetheless. We also heard that governments’ failures before the pandemic to provide adequate public services or to welcome and include all students in schools, made the consequences of the pandemic even worse for children’s education.