New Delhi (NVI): With more than 80 per cent students worldwide not being able to attend schools or universities due to coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF today said that it will scale up support in 145 countries to keep children learning.
The education of a large population of students worldwide has been disrupted due to nationwide school closure by the governments to prevent the virus from spreading.
“Schools in the majority of countries worldwide have closed. It is an unprecedented situation and unless we collectively act now to protect children’s education, societies and economies will feel the burden even long after we’ve beaten COVID-19. In the most vulnerable communities, the impact will span for generations,” UNICEF Global Chief of Education, Robert Jenkins said.
Jenkins added, “Based on the lessons learned with the school closures in response to Ebola, the longer children stay away from school, the less likely they are to ever return. Giving children alternative ways to learn and also by doing so, rebuild a routine is a critical part of our response.”
To help curb the disruption to children’s education and keep children learning safely, UNICEF has allocated additional funding to accelerate work with governments and partners in more than 145 low and middle-income countries
The initial global allocation of USD 13 million – nearly $9 million of which is from a contribution made by the Global Partnership for Education – will be catalytic by supporting national governments and a wide range of education partners in each country to develop plans to enable a rapid, system-wide response, UNICEF said.
The initiative will enable countries to prepare alternative learning programmes in the case of school closures and help schools keep children and their communities’ safe by providing vital information on handwashing and other hygiene practices, it said.
The funds will also help support children’s mental health and prevent stigma and discrimination by encouraging students to avoid stereotypes when talking about the virus.
Globally, the coronavirus has affected 196 countries, with more than 4,00,000 positive cases and 18,500 deaths, according to World Health Organization (WHO).
