With the world’s most vulnerable children and youth at risk of missing out on education as a fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO is urging all countries to protect better the fundamental right to learn by ratifying the Convention against Discrimination in Education, adopted on 14 December 60 years ago. (UNESCO)
The number of schoolchildren affected by COVID-19-related school closures soared by 38 per cent in November, placing significant strain on the learning progress and well-being of an additional 90 million students globally. According to data collected by UNESCO, classrooms for nearly 1 in 5 schoolchildren globally – or 320 million – are closed as of 1 December. (UNICEF)
An estimated 40% of the world’s poorest countries failed to support learners at risk of exclusion during the pandemic. Many children with disabilities are expected not to return to school after COVID-19. The challenges exposed during the pandemic around the education of marginalized learners call for a transformative agenda. (UNESCO)
As countries evaluate when and how to reopen schools safely, one key question is how schools will support learning and learning recovery. When schools reopen for in-person instruction, students will return with very different levels of knowledge and skills, with disadvantaged students most likely to exhibit the greatest learning losses. (World Bank Blogs)
In many education systems and schools, routines and practices that were in place for decades have been changed overnight, overturned and updated. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, teacher shortages were a real prospect in many education systems. In a joint communication, UNESCO, the ILO, UNICEF Education International and the UNDP declared that about 70 million teachers will be needed worldwide by 2030. (OECD Education and Skills Today)
Since the start of the new academic year, and with an increase in school dropout rates coupled with continued uncertainty, many schools have been struggling to ensure that learning never stops. Therefore, it is necessary – more than ever before – to make learning feel relevant again. This implies making greater efforts to foster the cognitive, social and emotional skills as well as the responsible behaviours that prepare young people to prevent and face future crises. (UNESCO)
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rethinking of priorities of many aspects of society. COVID-19 tells us that scientific cooperation, continuing education, the importance of reliable information based on scientific and undisputable facts, the need to fight disinformation, fake news and xenophobia on Internet, the power of culture and reliable knowledge are essential to address unprecedented challenges, to strengthen fabric of society, to strengthen solidarity in this critical moment and to build a better future in the post-COVID-19 era. (UNESCO Tashkent Office)
UNESCO and partners are coordinating the translation of books in the most vulnerable countries that are undergoing COVID-19 school closures. The translated books are then published on the Global Digital Library where they can be accessed for reading on digital devices or in print format. (UNESCO)
These days, education is no longer just about teaching people something or preparing them for all eventualities, but about helping them develop a reliable compass and the tools to navigate with confidence through a world that is increasingly complex, increasingly volatile and increasingly uncertain. (OECD Education and Skills Today)
Eight chapters below developed by UNESCO and Coalition partners provide COVID-19 education response frameworks, country practices and examples, concrete steps for intervention. These approaches can be used regardless of response stage; the kit is modular and each of its chapters can be used in a stand-alone manner. (UNESCO)
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) for education recognizes that all children deserve, and have the right to, a quality education. Over the last three decades, enrollment has risen to historic highs, though school disruptions and the economic implications of COVID-19 will offset some of these gains. For children to be fully prepared for the future, they need to complete their education, and emerge having learnt at least the basics. The new global indicator will combine all these critical factors to provide a snapshot of progress towards SDG 4. (World Education Blog)
UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Program (WFP) have called on global leaders to act now and invest in school health and nutrition, to address the current learning catastrophe and leave no one behind. (UNESCO)