LONDON – Children around the world have lost more than a third of the standard global 190-day school year because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Save the Children today.
The charity, based here, urged governments and donors to take swift action to prevent “an irreversible impact” on the lives of millions of children who may now never return to school.
It estimated that children have missed out on an average of 74 days of education each due to school closures and a lack of access to remote learning caused by the global health crisis.
The charity calculated 112 billion school days have been lost in total worldwide, with the poorest children disproportionately affected.
Kids in Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia missed out on almost triple the education of those in Western Europe, it said.
“Almost a year after the pandemic was officially declared, hundreds of millions of children remain out of school,” said chief executive Inger Ashing.
“The year 2021 must be the year to ensure that children do not pay the price for this pandemic.
“We will lose the war against the pandemic if we do not ensure children get back to school safely, have access to health services, have enough to eat, and are protected.”
The charity said supporting children’s safe return to school should be made a priority at this year’s meeting of the G7 group of wealthy nations, to be hosted by Britain in June.
‘I cry’
Save the Children found that at the peak of the pandemic last year, 91% of the world’s learners were locked out of schools.
Its analysis concluded that lockdowns have widened the wealth and opportunity gap both between and within countries.
“The divide grew between wealthier and poorer families; urban and rural households; refugees or displaced children and host populations; and, children with disabilities and children without disabilities.”
It also discovered “huge discrepancies” in remote access to learning in wealthier nations during the pandemic, in particular, the United States.
Students there are more disconnected from the internet than those in other high-income countries, likely hindering their online learning, it said.
Meanwhile, in Norway, 30% of kids aged 9 to 18 do not have access to a computer at home, and in the Netherlands, it is one out of five children. – AFP, March 2, 2021
