Building Climate-Resilient Education Systems

This synthesis team investigates the specific ways climate change affects learning outcomes, identifying the schools and children most vulnerable to climate risks, and exploring how governments can adapt school environments to ensure safer learning conditions.

In low- and middle-income countries, the impacts of climate change on education are significant, affecting indoor environmental quality in schools, creating unsafe classroom conditions, and disrupting learning. Extreme weather events, rising temperatures, noise pollution, and poor air quality all contribute to reduced attendance, poor cognitive performance, and overall lower learning outcomes, particularly in marginalised communities. Existing data suggests that learners in these regions face heightened exposure to climate risks, yet policy makers often lack the tools and data necessary to address these issues. There is an urgent need for low-cost infrastructure modifications to enhance school resilience, but there is still insufficient evidence to guide policy implementation effectively.

This team will synthesise literature on the impact of climate change, analyse geospatial data to assess the climate vulnerability of schools across sub-Saharan Africa, and examine case studies of climate-proofing interventions. Through collaboration with policymakers and community reviews, the project will generate evidence-based, contextually relevant recommendations to help improve the resilience of education systems in low- and middle-income countries.

Project Team:

• Lindiwe Chide – Ministry of Education (Malawi)
• Taskeen Adam – Open Development and Education (South Africa)
• Björn Haßler – Open Development and Education
• Chris McBurnie – Open Development and Education
• Aditi Bhutoria – Public Policy and Management Group, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
• Asit K Mishra – Technical University of Denmark
• Beatrice Sumari – University of Dar es Salaam
• Catherine Appiah-Pinkrah – Complimentary Education Agency, Ministry of Education (Ghana)
• Jose Ali Porras-Salazar – University of Costa Rica
• Nafisa Waziri – Open Development and Education
• Nothando Mtungwa – Open Development and Education
• Paul Radikonyana – Municipal Demarcation Board, South Africa
• Pawel Wargocki – Technical University of Denmark
• Ranossi Motene – Department of Basic Education, South Africa
• Stephen Ajadi – Architectural Association School of Architecture