We are on the brink of a “generational catastrophe” is how the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, described the education crisis in his UNESCO-led Policy Brief. With some schools still not open since the start of the pandemic, we have the “most severe disruption to global education systems in history, forcing more than 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries out of school”. Additionally it also threatens the future of 24m children who might drop out and never return to education. UNESCO proposes five themes as key to the COVID-19 response: 1. Protect domestic and international financing of education; 2. Reopen schools safely; 3. Focus on inclusion, equity and gender equality; 4. Reimagine teaching and learning; 5. Harnessing equitable connectivity and technologies for learning. Nearly half of the world’s population (3.6 billion people) still lack an internet connection, and “most students do not have the appropriate hardware, software, connectivity and digital skills required to find and use educational content dependent on technology”. Technology is key to ensuring the continuity of education and governments must make this happen for the sake of each economy and the future of its population.
https://en.unesco.org/news/why-world-must-urgently-strengthen-learning-and-protect-finance-education