The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A child’s first day of school, a landmark moment for the youngest pupils and their parents around the world, has been delayed due to COVID-19 for an estimated 140 million young minds, the UN Children’s agency has said.
For an estimated eight million of these pupils, the wait for their first day of in-person learning has been over a year and counting, as they live in places where schools have been closed throughout the pandemic.
In 2020, schools globally were fully closed for an average of 79 teaching days. However, for 168 million students, after the pandemic began, schools were shuttered for nearly the entire year. Even now, many children are facing an unprecedented second year of disruption to their education, and prolonging the first year of school which sets up the building blocks for all future learning, with introductions to reading, writing, and math.
In-person learning, which the children are missing helps them to gain independence, adapt to new routines, and develop meaningful relationships with teachers and students. It also enables teachers to identify and address learning delays, mental health issues, and abuse that could negatively affect children’s well-being.
“The first day of school is a landmark moment in a child’s life, setting them off on a life-changing path of personal learning and growth. Most of us can remember countless minor details, what clothes we wore, our teacher’s name, who we sat next to. But for millions of children, that important day has been indefinitely postponed,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“As classes resume in many parts of the world, millions of first graders have been waiting to see the inside of a classroom for over a year. Millions more may not see one at all this school term. For the most vulnerable, their risk of never stepping into a classroom in their lifetime is skyrocketing”, she added.
According to UNICEF, the associated consequences of school closures including learning loss, mental distress, missed vaccinations, and heightened risk of dropout, child labour, and child marriage will be felt by many children, especially the youngest learners in critical development stages.
Data shows that while countries worldwide are taking some actions to provide remote learning, at least 29 per cent of primary students are not being reached. In addition to lack of assets for remote learning, the youngest children may not be able to participate due to lack of support using technology, a poor learning environment, pressure to do household chores, or being forced to work.
Studies have shown that positive school experiences during this transition period are a predictor of children’s future social, emotional and educational outcomes. At the same time, children who fall behind in learning during the early years often stay behind for the remaining time they spend in school, and the gap widens over the years.
The number of years of education a child receives also directly affects their future earnings. Unless mitigation measures are implemented, the World Bank estimates a loss of $10 trillion in earnings overtime for this entire generation of students.
Existing evidence shows the cost of addressing learning gaps are lower and more effective when they are tackled earlier, and that investments in education support economic recovery, growth and prosperity. UNICEF urges governments to reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as possible and to provide a comprehensive recovery response for students.
In the following weeks, the UN body will continue to mobilize its partners and the public to prevent this education crisis from becoming an education catastrophe. Online and offline campaigns will rally world leaders, teachers, and parents around a common cause to reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as possible.
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