[ad_1]
Press releases for Monday, January 25, 2021
Source: Education monitoring in Africa
2021-01-25
A teacher with students
On this day, January 24, 2021, the International Day of Education established by the United Nations, around 5.3 million students in Africa are at risk of dropping out of school due to COVID-19.
These children include victims of teenage pregnancy, early marriage, child labor and economic migration, and those who attend private schools that have collapsed due to more than 10 months of school closings.
As countries continue to reopen schools, African governments must prioritize interventions aimed at protecting the right to education by ensuring that all children who left school in March 2020 return in 2021.
We recognize the logistical and infrastructure challenges that countries may face; along with the risks posed to the health of teachers and students while attending school within COVID; But our commitment to education as a right must overcome these obstacles.
We call on African governments to:
1. Prioritize the participation of local communities, especially parent-teacher associations, in planning and implementing their school reopening agendas and, more specifically, in finding additional spaces for use as classrooms in the communities.
2. Embark on a campaign to identify and support all categories of children at risk of dropping out of school (as identified in paragraph 1) to re-enroll and complete school.
3. Implement measures to strictly observe physical distancing protocols in classrooms, maintaining an average class size of 30 (one student per desk in a one-meter space arrangement around the perimeter), according to the COVID classroom -19 recommended by UNECSCO and WHO. Protocols.
4. Provide nasal masks, soap, disinfectants, and running water at all times for students and teachers within the school setting.
5. Announce immediate timelines for obtaining vaccinations for frontline workers, including teachers and healthcare workers, and in addition, all students.
