19 Oct 2021 The global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic was unique as it affected the whole world with the twin shocks of a health emergency and an economic recession. There will be a long-term negative impact on human capital accumulation, development prospects and welfare. The pandemic has affected all parts of the world and the responses to the situation have disproportionally affected the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society.This situation analysis has been undertaken as part of the broader analysis initiated by UNICEF and UNESCO to provide a snapshot of the educational responses and effects of COVID-19 across Asia. It considers the direct effects of school closures and reopenings and identifies the initial impact that this may have on learners, their families as well as on the overall education system. The objectives of the analysis are:• to assess and estimate the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector and stakeholders in Asia;• to examine policy and financial implications on progress towards achieving SDG 4-Education 2030 and;• to identify examples of promising responses and strategies in education and associated social sectors, which can be shared with other countries. This report looks at East Asia (EA), a diverse group of countries by size and population. For the purposes of this study the countries considered are China, Japan, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea. The report draws on three in-depth case studies conducted on China, the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as other resources. The region includes several of the world’s largest megacities and densely populated coastal and riparian areas as well as some of the world’s least densely populated areas in western China and Mongolia.