Majority of children are back in school

This spring, as Covid-19 restrictions reached its peak, 1,5 billion pupils and students where kept out of school. Schools were closed in 194 countries, affecting 94 per cent of the world’s learners. And after the summer break, 70 per cent of the children were still forced to stay home from school. But this week, the numbers look nicer: Schools remain closed in 53 countries, affecting 49 per cent of the learners. This means that more than half of the world’s learners are back in school. Still, more than 800 million pupils and students are home from school, with remote education as their only education. 

According to UNESCO, school closures widen learning inequalities and hurt vulnerable children and youth disproportionately. UNESCO launched a global education collation this spring to support countries in distance learning practices and facilitate the return of students when schools reopen. 

Girls are particularly vulnerable for the negative effects of school closures. In July, Malala Fund, established by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, launched a report estimating that 10 million more girls would be out of school after the pandemic.