UNESCO: Coronavirus has deprived half of world’s students of education

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) announced on Wednesday that more than 850 million students around the world, or about half of all students, have been forced to stay at home and are thus deprived of education due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Paris-based organisation said that due to the total closure of schools and universities in more than a hundred countries, and the partial closure in others, the number of students thus deprived of education has doubled in just four days. It noted that the figure is expected to increase, constituting an “unprecedented challenge” for the education sector.

Last week, UNESCO said that one out of every five students in the world has been disconnected from their school while one in four higher education students has been disconnected from university or college.

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“We are fighting the unknown,” explained UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, “and we are working with countries to find solutions based on advanced or simple technology or without the use of technology in order to ensure the regularity and continuity of the learning process.”

UNESCO has formed a special team to support actions taken at the national level around the world and exchange suggestions of effective measures as part of the efforts to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Cornavirus is affecting the world’s economy – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]