School Closures, Government Responses, and Learning Outcomes: A Case Study from Indonesia

The text discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education system, with a focus on developed and developing countries. It highlights that developed countries were able to mitigate learning losses to some extent due to shorter closures and better digital infrastructure. In contrast, developing countries faced significant learning losses, as evidenced by studies in Mexico, Brazil, and South Africa. These countries had limited remote learning resources and relied on television and radio for education. The paper contributes to the literature by examining the effects of school closures on learning outcomes in Indonesia, finding significant learning losses, particularly among high-ability students, likely due to a shortened curriculum during closures.