A/HRC/44/39 (d) Developing emergency education preparedness plans within national education systems globally, as few countries have crisis-sensitive education plans 12 and educational planners at all levels are not sufficiently trained in this respect. These plans should be based on the right to education for all and the availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability framework; (e) Placing the right to public education at the heart of educational policies. In particular, legal and regulatory frameworks should integrate the right of access to public educational institutions and programmes on a non-discriminatory basis as a core obligation, in accordance with article 13 of the Covenant. 13 Countries with strong public education systems are more likely to respond to educational crises than others, in the same way that countries with strong public health services are better able to respond to health crises. More widely, implementing the right to public, inclusive, quality education for all on a long-term basis is the best way to combat the inequalities that the COVID-19 crisis did not create but exposed and widened significantly. Temporary measures adopted during a crisis can only minimize impact, not solve inequalities. 18. As societies are hit by an enormous economic crisis with long-lasting effects, the Special Rapporteur reminds States of their obligation under article 2 of the Covenant to devote their maximum available resources to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the Covenant. According to the Committee, any deliberately retrogressive measures in that regard would require the most careful consideration and would need to be fully justified by reference to the totality of the rights provided for in the Covenant and in the context of the full use of the maximum available resources. 14 In this context, the Abidjan principles on the human rights obligations of States to provide public education and to regulate private involvement in education provide useful guidance.15 III. Issues of concern 19. Most States and other stakeholders, including intergovernmental and civil society organizations, have done their best to address the education crisis in a very short time. The Special Rapporteur salutes these efforts. She has received numerous testimonies, from all parts of the world, about the deployment of distance learning through high-tech solutions (such as online teaching), low-tech solutions (using radio or television) or no-tech solutions (such as distribution of documents); actions adopted to reach the most vulnerable; and support provided to teachers and families to ensure the provision of home schooling and attention to the well-being of learners and their families. She pays special tribute to teachers, many of whom are women, who have demonstrated courage (in particular those who have taken care of the children of frontline workers), commitment, creativity in designing new teaching methods and in finding ways to remain in contact with learners and flexibility in adapting to the new context. 20. Such measures could never, however, be expected to compensate for the patent global lack of preparedness for a crisis of this magnitude. Moreover, past failures to build strong and resilient education systems have had a dramatic impact on the most vulnerable and marginalized, a situation to which no temporary measure adopted in haste could have fully responded. 21. An overall assessment is necessary, as stakeholders must ensure that they are prepared for the next crisis. Such an assessment should include: an analysis of rising inequalities due to the measures adopted to face the pandemic; an investigation into the sustainability of economic and financial models behind education systems, including the consequences of poor funding of public educational institutions; a scrutiny of the role of private actors in education; an evaluation of the adequacy of social protection provided for education workers, including in the private sector; and scrutiny of the lack of cooperation between State administrations, educational institutions, teachers, learners, parents and 12 13 14 15 https://inee.org/collections/education-planning. General comment No. 13, para. 57. General comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties’ obligations, para. 9. See, in particular, principles 45–46. 7