Warning that widespread closures of educational facilities present an unprecedented risk to children’s education and wellbeing, the UN agencies have laid down guidelines for reopening of schools that have been closed in most parts of the world due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the guidelines framed by UNESCO, UNICEF, WorldBank and the World Food Programme, the best interests of children and overallpublic health considerations, based on an assessment of the associated benefitsand risks to education, public health and socio-economic factor, must becentral to national and local authorities’ decisions to reopen schools.
The guidelines note that while there is not enough evidenceyet to measure the impact of school closures on the disease transmission rates,the adverse effects of school closures on children’s safety and learning arewell documented. Gains made in increasing access to children’s education inrecent decades risk being lost and, in the worse cases, reversed completely.
As per UNESCO estimates, over 154 crore students areseverely impacted by closure of educational
institutions across the world amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Widespread closures of educational facilities inresponse to the COVID-19 pandemic present an unprecedented risk to children’seducation and wellbeing, particularly for the most marginalised children whorely on school for their education, health, safety and nutrition.
“Schools do much more than teach children how to read,write and count. They also provide nutrition, health and hygiene services;mental health and psychosocial support; and dramatically reduce the risk ofviolence, early pregnancy and more.
“And it’s the most vulnerable children who are thehardest hit by school closures, and we know from previous crises that thelonger they are out of school, the less likely they are to return,” theguidelines read.
According to a UNESCO representative, the guidelines aim toinform the decision-making process regarding school reopening, support nationalpreparations and guide the implementation process, as part of overall publichealth and education planning processes.
“It is designed to be a flexible tool that can beadapted to each context and updated as the situation changes. The guidelinesoutline six key priorities to assess the readiness of those schools and informplanning,” she said.
As the countries grapple with when to reopen schools,UNESCO, UNICEF and WFP, as part of the Global Education Coalition, have urgedgovernments to assess the benefits of classroom-based instruction compared toremote learning, and the risk factors related to reopening of schools, notingthe inconclusive evidence around the infection risks related to schoolattendance.
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General forEducation, had told PTI in an interview that shutting down of schools due tothe COVID-19 pandemic comes with a warning of “potential for increaseddrop-out rates that will disproportionately affect adolescent girls, furtherentrench gender gaps in education and lead to increased risk of sexualexploitation, early pregnancy and early and forced marriage”.
In India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development isformulating safety guidelines to be followed whenever classroom learning isresumed.
New seating matrix, staggered classes, different mess andlibrary rules, revamped hostels and canteens, could be part of students’socially distant lives in schools and colleges when they return.
Universities and schools across the country have been closedsince March 16 when the central government announced a countrywide classroomshutdown as one of the measures to contain COVID-19.Morethan 3.6 million cases of coronavirus, including at least 257,000 deaths, havebeen recorded worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.