the following suggestions to answer the question of how to transform and implement systemic change to reimagine education during and after COVID-19. These are some suggestions: 1. The current world requires every individual to have a deeper connection to their innermost human traits, such as creativity and empathy. Despite the pandemic disrupting the education system, it is a great opportunity to reimagine or renew the system. 2. The education system must move towards enhancing equity and co-creation between the teachers and students. This will create a conducive learning environment for enriching the whole student. This will require more autonomy for schools and teachers and fewer top-down demands. 3. COVID-19 has widened social inequalities, especially in distance education. The pandemic is an opportunity to recreate public policies without discrimination. We need, now more than ever, to bridge the equity divide in our global learning systems. 4. Reimagining the school system could involve eliminating examinations for a year, training teachers on social and emotional learning to ensure that they are trauma-responsive, and realigning the school calendar to prepare the children for an uncertain future. To conclude, the world is facing a time when it can go through great ruin or experience great renewal. The education sector is the most adversely affected. Education needs to be a priority in the coming months and years, we cannot let it get lost in budget cuts and aid. Education is often the first service to be disrupted and the last to be restored in crisis situations. School leaders have no clear answers or pathways that can help them resolve the constant challenges of COVID-19, however their role is critical towards the survival of the education system during and after the pandemic. ***** About the author: Asmaa Al-Fadala is Director of Research and Content Development at WISE.
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