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LONDON: Widespread reopening of schools after closings and holidays is generally unrelated to rising COVID-19 rates, a study of 191 countries found, but closure closures will leave a “learning pandemic debt” in 2020 300 billion school days lost.
The analysis, conducted by the Geneva-based independent educational foundation Insights for Education (IfE), said 84 percent of those 300 billion days would be lost by children in the poorest countries, and warned that 711 million students they were still out of school.
“It has been assumed that opening schools will lead to infections and that closing schools will reduce transmission, but the reality is much more complex,” said IfE founder and CEO Randa Grob-Zakhary.
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The vast majority (92 percent) of countries going through their first wave of COVID-19 infections have begun reopening school systems, even as some are experiencing a second increase.
IfE found that 52 countries that sent students back to school in August and September, including France and Spain, saw infection rates rise during the holidays compared to when they were closed.
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In Britain and Hungary, however, infection levels declined after the initial closure of schools, remained low during the holidays, and began to rise after the reopening.
The full analysis of these 52 countries did not find a strong correlation between school status and infections, pointing to the need to consider other factors, IfE said.
“The key now is to learn from those countries that are effectively reopening in a context of increasing infections,” Grob-Zakhary said.
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The report said 44 countries have kept schools closed.
It found that countries are developing strategies for schools during the pandemic, including some, like Italy, France, ordering temporary closure of schools on a case-by-case basis.
Other measures include policies on masks, class rotations, and the combination of remote lessons with lessons at school.
“This first real global test highlights what school life looks like in a COVID world,” said Grob-Zakhary. “Understanding how countries going through a massive second wave are dealing with this new reality in the classroom is essential to guide future reopening decisions and help schools stay open.”
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