Corona Virus & Education
Education: From disruption to recovery
Corona Virus & Education. First One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, close to half the world’s students are still affected by partial or full school closures. Over 100 million additional children will fall below the minimum proficiency level in reading. This is the first visible result of the health crisis. Now prioritizing education recovery is crucial. This will help to avoid a generational catastrophe as highlighted in a high-level ministerial meeting in March 2021.
UNESCO is supporting countries in their efforts to mitigate the impact of school closures. As a result this address learning losses and adapt education systems, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.
To mobilize and support learning continuity, UNESCO has established the Global Education Coalition which today counts 160 members. These members are working around three central themes: Gender, connectivity and teachers.
UNESCO and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 are collecting information on teacher prioritization within national COVID-19 vaccine deployment. And including data from the UNESCO/UNICEF/World Bank Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures and the OECD.
Finally National vaccination rollout plans vary significantly in terms of number of phases and priority groups. And at present, 1 in 4 of teachers globally are prioritized in the first phase of national rollout plans. And 1 in 3 teachers are not included in any priority group.
