A 1974 report by the World Bank defined formal education as the following:Formal education: the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded ‘education system’, running from primary school through the university and including, in addition to general academic studies, a variety of specialised programmes and institutions for full-time technical and professional training.The majority of data collected on the number of students and learners impacted by COVID-19 has been calculated based on the closure of formal education systems.