The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the closure of schools in 20 countries and the closure of preschools in 19 countries in Europe and Central Asia. This affected a total of 49.8 million children, from preschool to high school, who had a very disruptive last semester of school (if there was one at all), culminating in the closing schools.

The pandemic has deeply affected education and aggravated the existing social inequities in the region. Children from low-income families, children living in rural areas with poor infrastructure, children from ethnic and linguistic minorities, children with disabilities, migrant and refugee children, children in conflict with the law, children and young people who do not attend educational institutions, boys and girls living in difficult conditions or in abusive homes already faced significant barriers to participation in education and learning and had less education and social advantages than their peers.

The paper presents some considerations from much larger research that analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people.