October 29, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

According to a report released on October 29th, published by UNESCO, the United Nations educational and cultural organization, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank, Covid-19 pandemic made children in the poorest countries not be able to go to school for nearly four months, while children in high-income countries lost education for about six weeks.

Among the almost 150 countries this survey based on, nearly 90% adopted different ways to speed up online learning, such as providing subsidies or free internet service, though it’s least likely for students in low and lower middle income countries to take remote learning.

Over two-thirds of the countries have completely or partially reopened schools, while 25% (low- and medium-low-income countries are in majority) have delayed or not yet set a planned reopening date. 

In addition, 50% respondents in low income countries claimed that they lacked enough funds for safety measures, such as handwashing installations or protective equipment for the pandemic. 

Both UNESCO and the World Bank appealed to governments around the world to put more effort on education to reduce the inequality in learning opportunities.

Photo:Webshot.