Virus effect on students a catastrophe, says UN

UNITED NATIONS/NEW DELHI: United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday that the world faces a “generational catastrophe” because of school closures amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and said that getting students safely back to the classroom must be “a top priority”.

Guterres said that as of midjuly, schools were closed in some 160 countries, affecting more than 1 billion students, while at least 40 million children have missed out on pre-school.

This came on top of more than 250 million children already being out of school before the pandemic and only a quarter of secondary school students in developing countries leaving with basic skills, he said in a video statement.

“Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” said Guterres as he launched a UN “Save our Future” campaign. “Once local transmission of Covid-19 is under control, getting students back to schools and institutions as safely as possible must be a top priority,” he said. “Consultation with parents, carers, teachers and young people is fundamental.”

Educationist and former University Grants Commission (UGC) member Dr Inder Mohan Kapahy said: “Covid-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented existential crisis in the whole world, particularly in the developing nations. In India alone, a minimum of 30 million school students are adversely affected. In poorer countries, schools provide not only education but also nutrients, food and life skills. A conservative estimate is that disruption in school education may continue for at least four months more.”

According to a global projection covering 180 countries by the UN education agency UNESCO and partner organisations, some 23.8 million additional children and youths from pre-primary school to university level are at risk of dropping out or not having access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic impact.

“We are at a defining moment for the world’s children and young people,” Guterres said in a video message and a 26-page policy briefing.

Guterres called for action in four key areas, the first being reopening schools.