Millions of Children Lacks Access to Education – UN

The United Nations has said that one-third of students around the world lack access to virtual education amid COVID-19 pandemic and wide closure of schools.

The UN disclosed that about 1.5 billion children worldwide have been affected by lockdown or school closings caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

In a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it was revealed that an estimated 463 million children lack access to distance learning at this period of school closure.

The report said even children with adequate access to distance learning may face challenges in getting distance education.

UNICEF indicated challenges like lack of a good workspace at home, pressure to do other work for the family, or a lack of technical support when computer problems arise.

A break down of the report showed 67 million of the students are in Eastern and Southern African, while 54 million students are in Western and Central Africa.

Students that lacked access to virtual education in the Pacific and East Asia are estimated at 80 million; the Middle East and North Africa 37 million; South Asia 147 million and Latin America and the Caribbean 13 million.

No figures were given for the US or Canada.

Henrietta Fore, the Executive Director, UNICEF, said “The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency.”

“The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come.”

UNICEF, therefore, urged governments to prioritize the safe reopening of schools when they begin easing lockdown restrictions.

It added that governments should arrange for compensatory learning for lost instructional time if reopening of schools is impossible.