Schools to reopen
Across the world, children and young people are preparing for a new school year. And more countries are reopening schools and educational institutions after being closed due to Covid-19.
When the crisis was at its worst this spring, 94 percent of the world’s students were affected by the closures.
190 countries closed their schools and universities and 1.6 billion pupils and students had to stay at home. The latest survey from the UN shows that the number of affected children and young people has dropped to 1 billion, which is equivalent to under 60 percent of the world’s pupils and students.
But there are still 100 countries that have not set a date for when their schools will reopen. UNICEF warns that closed schools can have some serious consequences for children.
"The pandemic is the biggest intrusion on children’s right to education we have seen in history. After more than 6 months of measures, it has become quite clear that it is the consequences of the measure, and not the disease itself, that affects that children the most,"
UNICEF urge all countries to give priority to children and young people, and let schools be the first institutions to reopen after the closure of society. This also applies here in Norway.
“Children’s rights, which are Norwegian law, set limits on the magnitude of the intrusions that are legal when it comes to children. For the most vulnerable children, school closure has irreversible consequences. That is why it is so important that authorities listen to health-recommendations from professionals, so that they do not keep schools closed longer than necessary. If they do, then they are in violation of children’s rights,” says Viken.
On Friday 14 August, she released a peace dove from the Nobel Peace Center to mark that more of the world’s pupils and students can return to school this autumn.
Did you know that….
…UNICEF received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for its work to promote children’s rights to health, education and well-being?
Every Friday at noon, the Nobel Peace Center will release a peace dove together with “The good news of the week.”The dove is released from a window at the Nobel Peace Center, situated on the City Hall Square. As the dove crosses the square, the John Lennon song Give Peace a Chance will play from the bell towers.
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