Tue 04 August 2020:
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday that the world is facing a “generational catastrophe” because of school closures amid the coronavirus pandemic and “getting students back into schools and learning institutions as safely as possible must be a top priority” once local transmission of Covid-19 is under control.
Guterres said that as of mid-July schools were closed in some 160 countries, affecting more than 1 billion students, while at least 40 million children have missed out on pre-school.
“Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” said Guterres as he launched a U.N. “Save our Future” campaign.
“Once local transmission of COVID-19 is under control, getting students back into schools and learning institutions as safely as possible must be a top priority,” he said. “Consultation with parents, carers, teachers and young people is fundamental.”
More than 250 million school-age children were out of school before the start of the pandemic and only a quarter of secondary school children in developing countries were leaving school with basic skills, he said. The knock-on effects on child nutrition, child marriage and gender equality, among others, are also “deeply concerning.”
“And even for those who can access distance learning, success depends on their living conditions,” Guterres said. “parents, especially women, have been forced to assume heavy care burdens in the home.”
“We already faced a learning crisis before the pandemic,” he said. “now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities.”
The coronavirus, which first appeared in China late last year, has infected 4.6 million people in the United States and killed more than 155,000 Americans since February, according to a Reuters tally. Deaths rose by over 25,000 in July and cases doubled in 19 states during the month.
