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Furthermore, the UN chief said at least 40 million. Children around the world have been cut off from education in “a crucial preschool year for them.”
Guterres warned that this would put the world at risk of “an entire generation catastrophe that could waste infinite human potential, undermine the progress made over decades and increase existing inequalities.”
According to the UN Secretary General, even before the pandemic, the world was facing a “learning crisis” with more than 250 million out of school. children and only a quarter of high school students in developing countries completed their studies with ‘basic skills’.
According to a forecast prepared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partner organizations in 180 countries, another 23.8 million from preschool children to young people attending universities are at risk of dropping out or not having access to education early next year due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
“We are at a crucial time for the world’s children and youth,” Guterres said in a video and a 26-page policy review. “The decisions now made by governments and partners will have a lasting impact on the development prospects of hundreds of millions of youth and countries in the coming decades.”
As the document says, the “unprecedented disruption to education” caused by the pandemic is far from over, and some 100 countries have yet to announce when schools will open.
Guterres called for action in four key areas, beginning with the opening of training institutions.
“Once local transmission of COVID-19 is controlled, the top priority should be to return students to schools and educational establishments in the safest possible conditions,” he said.
UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini told reporters that the Paris-based agency plans to hold a high-level virtual meeting in the fall to secure the commitment of world leaders and the international community to put education at the center of their post-pandemic recovery programs.
“There may be financial compensation, but the longer schools remain closed, the more damaging the impact will be, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable children,” said Giannini.
He stressed the importance of schools not only for learning but also for providing social protection and nutrition, which is especially important for vulnerable students.
Giannini said that the coronavirus crisis had increased digital, social and gender inequalities. She stressed that girls, refugees, displaced persons and boys living in rural areas have the most vulnerable and limited opportunities to continue their education.
Mr. Guterres emphasized the need to prioritize increased funding for education.
Before the pandemic, the education financing gap in low- and middle-income countries was 1.5 trillion. dollars a year, and the pandemic could increase it by 30 percent, the UN secretary-general said.
According to him, educational initiatives should target “those most at risk of coping alone”, including youth in crisis, members of minorities, displaced persons and people with disabilities. Furthermore, such initiatives must urgently address the digital divide, which became even more evident during the COVID-19 crisis, Guterres said.
However, the UN chief noted that the pandemic provided an important “opportunity to rethink education” and move to systems that help ensure quality education.
To achieve this, he called for investments in “digital literacy and infrastructure” and more flexible, equitable and inclusive education systems.
Mr. Giannini, for his part, noted that innovations introduced during the pandemic, such as online classes and radio and television broadcast lessons, “prove that change can happen quickly.”
He said a coalition of global organizations launched the Save Our Future campaign on Tuesday to strengthen the voices of children and youth and called on governments around the world to recognize that investing in education is crucial to recovering from COVID-19 and the future of the world.
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