COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program – Scholars Program
Questions and Answers
Updated April 9, 2020
How will the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program support education?
The Recovery and Resilience Program will seek to mitigate the effects that the pandemic has on learning at tertiary and secondary levels.
How many Scholars are currently enrolled in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and affected by the pandemic?
There are 28,290 Scholars currently enrolled in secondary and tertiary education, across the Scholars Program.
Approximately 700 tertiary Scholars are enrolled at universities outside of their home country.
Scholars are studying in 19 different countries, globally; tertiary Scholars are studying in 18 different countries; secondary education Scholars are studying in six countries.
How will the program focus on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program?
There is an allocation to short-term interventions, ideally within 60 days, to support partner universities and prospective partners to address Scholars’ immediate needs. These may include:
- Increased cost of living.
- Health and well-being.
- Summer activities.
- Return home, where feasible.
Resources will also be allocated to resilience-building interventions that aim to build the capacity of Scholars Program partner institutions to withstand the immediate crisis and emerge stronger. Interventions may include:
- Building the capacity of Scholars Program partner universities to deliver online instruction to Scholars and all students, in the medium- and long-term.
- Facilitating continuous and constructive engagement and learning of Scholars across the network.
- Mobilizing the collective agency of Scholars as transformative leaders and agents of positive change.
- Connecting Scholars to new kinds of work.
- Digital solutions to improve Scholars’ well-being, particularly during this crisis.
