It is estimated that 1.6 billion children worldwide, or more than 90% of all school students around the world have been affected by their school closures due to the pandemic, which threatens to widen wealth inequalities both within and between countries, say agencies and experts.
"We are facing the risk of a lost generation," United Nations education expert Robert Jenkins said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation."
"It's now or never is the time to change things," he said.
Without urgent action, many countries could end up without the skilled workers they need for future development, said Jenkins, UNICEF's head of education.
He also expressed concerns about the risk of social instability in countries where large numbers of young people are left without skills, jobs or hope for the future.
Children in low- and middle-income countries have been disproportionately affected as their schools have been closed for longer periods and have been unable to access distance education, UNICEF said ahead of the two-year anniversary of the pandemic.
Data from Uganda, where schools reopened in January after being closed for 22 full months, show that up to 30 per cent of children may not return to class. The school closures have increased child labour, teenage pregnancies and early marriages, say children's rights activists.
Meanwhile, many parents impoverished by the lockdown can no longer afford to send their children to school.
The World Bank says classroom closures could cost children $17 trillion in lifetime earnings, equivalent to 14% of today's global gross domestic product as losses in education limit their future opportunities.
Educators say the world is at a crossroads. Reopening classrooms is not enough as schools must assess children and adjust curricula to help them catch up.
Evidence from previous crises, such as the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, shows that learning losses can increase even after children return to school if teaching is not tailored to their needs. Some teachers note that children have forgotten not only what they learned, but also how to learn.
Education was in crisis even before the pandemic, with 53% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries unable to read a simple story, the World Bank says, warning that this could now soar to 70%, with possible consequences lasting up to decades.
Children have also lost opportunities to develop social skills with friends, play sports and, for some, be outside the home where they suffer abuse.
UNICEF warns that schools must take a holistic approach as they welcome children back, addressing their mental, psychosocial and physical wellbeing.
In many countries, girls have been disproportionately affected. They often have less access to technology than their siblings and are more likely to be required to help with household chores when classes close. Parents may also prioritise sending a son back to school rather than a daughter if money is limited in poor countries.
But for hundreds of thousands of girls there is another barrier to resuming classes as they have become pregnant. In 2020, aid agency World Vision estimated that 1 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa may drop out of school due to pregnancy.
Globally, 9 million children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 due to the pandemic, according to UNICEF.
Source: CNA
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