The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the largest disruption of education in history, with schools closed in more than 160 countries in the middle of last month, affecting more than 1 billion students, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday.
In addition, at least 40 million children worldwide have missed out on education “in their critical preschool year,” he said.
As a result, the world faces “a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” he said.
Photo: AP
Even before the pandemic, the world faced “a learning crisis,” with more than 250 million children out of school, and only a quarter of secondary school youngsters in developing countries leaving school “with basic skills,” he said.
According to a global projection covering 180 countries by the UN education agency UNESCO and partner organizations, about 23.8 million additional children and youths from pre-primary school to university level are at risk of dropping out or not having access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic impact.
“We are at a defining moment for the world’s children and young people,” Guterres said in a video message and a 26-page policy briefing. “The decisions that governments and partners take now will have lasting impact on hundreds of millions of young people, and on the development prospects of countries for decades to come.”
“The unparalleled education disruption” from the pandemic is far from over and as many as 100 countries have not yet announced a date for schools to reopen,” the policy briefing said.
Guterres called for action in four key areas, the first being reopening schools.
“Once local transmission of COVID-19 is under control, getting students back into schools and learning institutions as safely as possible must be a top priority,” he said.
UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini told reporters the Paris-based agency plans to hold a high-level virtual meeting in the fall, likely during the second half of October, to secure commitments from world leaders and the international community to place education at the forefront of recovery agendas from the pandemic.
“There may be economic trade-offs, but the longer schools remain closed the more devastating the impact, especially on the poorest and most vulnerable children,” Giannini said.
Schools are not only for learning, but provide social protection and nutrition, especially for vulnerable youngsters, she said.
The COVID-19 crisis has amplified digital, social and gender inequalities, with girls, refugees, the disabled, displaced and youngsters in rural areas the most vulnerable and facing limited opportunities to continue their learning, she said.
Guterres said increasing financing for education must be given priority.
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