As the Corona virus continues to eat deep into the pockets and economies of countries in the course of the year, a report has warned that as much as 10,000,000 children may never return to school, as a result of the continuous lockdown of schools around the world.
The alarm was raised by a report by international non-governmental organisation, Save the Children International, in its Save Our Education report for the year and made available to Quick News Africa on Monday.
The report fingered deep budget cuts to education and rising poverty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as the main factor why, at least, 9.7 million children could be out of school forever by the end of the year, with millions more falling behind in learning.
“Girls are likely to be much worse affected than boys, with many forced into early marriage. As the impacts of the recession triggered by Covid-19 hits families, many children may be forced out of school and into labour markets.”
The organisation called for governments and donors to respond to this global education emergency by urgently investing in education as schools begin to reopen after months of lockdown.
Also, the INGO urged commercial creditors to suspend debt repayments by low-income countries – a move that could free up $14bn for investment in education.
“It would be unconscionable to allow resources that are so desperately needed to keep alive the hope that comes with education to be diverted into debt repayments,” said Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children. The agency calls for governments to use their budgets to ensure children have access to distance learning whilst lockdown measures remain; and to support children who have fallen behind.
The report reveals the devastating effects the COVID-19 outbreak is set to have on learning. In a mid-range budget scenario, the agency estimates that the recession will leave a shortfall of $77 billion in education spending in some of the poorest countries in the world over the next 18 months. In a worst-case scenario, under which governments shift resources from education to other COVID-19 response areas, that figure could climb to an astonishing $192 billion by the end of 2021.
The impending budget crunch comes after lockdown measures saw a peak of 1.6 billion children out of school, globally.
Before the outbreak, 258 million children and adolescents were already out of school. A Vulnerability Index in the report shows that in 12 countries, mainly in West and Central Africa but also including Yemen and Afghanistan, children are at extremely high risk of not returning to school after the lockdowns lift – especially girls.
In another 28 countries children are at moderate or high risk of not going back to school and of the longer-term effects of widening inequalities. In total, Save the Children estimates that some 9.7 million children could be forced out of school by the end of this year.
Currently, more than 1 billion children are out of school due to the global pandemic.
Many of the top-12 countries in the report’s index already have high out-of-school rates and a sharp divide in school attendance along wealth and gender lines. These factors are likely to be exacerbated by school closures, with girls and children from poverty-stricken families being hardest hit.
Children in these countries are also caught in a vicious cycle of risk: they face greater risks of being forced into child labour and, adolescent girls are especially at risk of gender-based violence, child marriage and teenage pregnancy, which increases the longer they are out of school. The same risks directly impact their ability to return to school at all. Combined with the sharp decrease of education spending, the COVID-19 outbreak could be a cruel blow for millions of children.
Despite the efforts of governments and organisations, some 500 million children had no access to distance learning and many of the poorest children may not have literate parents who can help them. Having lost out on months of learning, many children will struggle to catch up, raising the likelihood of drop out.
The organisation warned that school closures have meant much more than education loss for many children – taking away safe places where children can play with friends, have meals and access health services, including services for their mental health. Teachers are often front-line responders and protectors for children who might suffer from abuse at home. With school closures, these safeguards fall away.
In its conclusion, the report urged governments and donors to ensure that out-of-school children have access to distance learning and protection services.
“Those who return to school should be able to do so in a safe and inclusive way, with access to school meals and health services. Learning assessments and catch up classes must be adapted so that children can make up for their lost learning.
The organisation further called for “an increased funding of education,” with $35 billion to be made available by the World Bank.
“National governments must make education a priority by producing and implementing COVID-19 education responses and recovery plans to ensure the most marginalised children are able to continue learning”, the report finished..
