‘COVID-19 affects 363 million students worldwide’

MANILA, Philippines — Close to 363 million learners worldwide have been impacted by disruptions and suspensions of classes in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The UNESCO said classrooms have been shuttered across the world, causing a record number of students to miss school.

Data from the agency showed that the COVID-19 crisis has so far been keeping one in five students worldwide away from school and an additional one in four from higher education classes.

Fifteen countries have ordered nationwide school closures and 14 have implemented localized closures – spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.

The UNESCO said there should be emergency response to minimize disruptions of education worldwide.

The agency is stepping up its support to ensure that innovation and inclusion continue despite disruptions and exacerbate inequality through measures like distance learning programs in multiple languages.

UNESCO’s expertise in open and distance learning spans teacher-training platforms, e-learning school models and the development of other information and communications technology.

“We are entering uncharted territory and working with countries to find high-tech, low-tech and no-tech solutions to assure the continuity of learning,” UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay said.

Azoulay maintained that as countries try to prepare their responses, “international cooperation is vital to share the most effective approaches and support students, teachers and families.”

“We are facing an unusual situation with a large number of countries affected by the same issue at the same time,” UNESCO’s assistant director general for education Stefania Giannini said.

“We need to come together not only to address the immediate educational consequences of this unprecedented crisis, but also to build up the longer-term resilience of education systems.”

To steer the global response, the UNESCO announced the creation of a UNESCO-COVID-19 Emergency Task Force to support national responses and share effective policy responses, with a focus on the most vulnerable countries.