The third main recommendation is for stakeholders to lift student performance and create positive changes using efficient and scalable solutions.

Some findings from PILNA 2021 justify immediate action. While acknowledging that limited resources may be a barrier to solutions and that these regional findings cover many students, efficient and scalable solutions are needed.

Ministries of education and other stakeholders are encouraged to take the PILNA findings, understand them, and work together to identify and implement activities to increase student performance and address any wider challenges.

1. Identify and implement low-cost and high-impact activities to improve student performance where needed. Educators and other stakeholders should collaborate to identify and implement activities to address student underperformance at local and regional levels. PILNA data provide insights into learning gaps that should be addressed, and local stakeholders can provide insights into how best to deliver interventions in their contexts. These should be implemented in a manner that is inclusive and equitable, and that considers local and traditional approaches to education.
2. Identify and implement activities to address any wider challenges experienced by students, teachers and school leaders. The contextual data that PILNA 2021 collected gave valuable insights into the experiences of these groups and their environments. Some of these challenges may affect student performance, others may affect well-being and the effective functioning of education systems. Ministries of education, development partners, and other stakeholders should collaborate to understand these issues at local and regional levels and implement actions to create positive change where necessary. Ministries of education should consider involving stakeholders beyond education where relevant. Wider stakeholders may provide unique insights or solutions to challenges, such as the identified teacher shortages and related labour needs.