United Nations Day of Education comes at a time when COVID-19 precautions have barred physical attendance at schools for over a year.
This is not just a local challenge.
According to the UN, it would be using today’s fourth anniversary of the International Day of Education as a platform to showcase the important transformations to more sustainable, inclusive futures for the children of the world.
“Education is key to charting a course towards more justice and sustainability, but it is failing millions of children, youths and young adults, increasing exposure to poverty, violence and exploitation,” the UN said.
It noted that the COVID-19 pandemic “had exacerbated a pre-existing education crisis”.
“Reliance on digital technology for learning has depended on exclusion and gender inequalities. Without remedial action, better support to teachers and increased financing, learning losses and school drop out will continue to rise, reversing progress towards all the Sustainable Development Goals and depriving youth of a future of dignity and opportunity,” the UN noted.
The UN said that its objectives for the day were to generate debate on the essential triggers of transformations to build more equitable and inclusive education systems that will accelerate progress towards SDG 4, taking on board findings of UNESCO’s Futures of Education Report.
It also intends to showcase transformations in action with the potential for scaling to advance digital inclusion, green competencies and skills, and gender equality.
The UN said that one of the aims of today is to mobilize politicians to address gaping inequalities in access and completion of education.
According to the latest data from UNESCO, this generation of students risk losing some $17 trillion in lifetime earnings because of the pandemic school closures.
UNESCO confirmed that the real figures are worse than it projected previously.
“The new projection reveals that the impact is more severe than previously thought and far exceeds the $10 trillion estimates released in 2020,” UNESCO said.
While some children have benefitted from remote learning, the most vulnerable in society are the worst impacted as children from low-income homes cannot access the technology needed to participate.
“Initial evidence points to larger losses among girls, as they are quickly losing the protection that schools and learning offer to their well-being and life chances,” the international report stated.
According to the report, less than 3 per cent of global governments stimulus packages are directed to education.
In Trinidad, post-secondary and tertiary level students are allowed to attend physical classes for teaching and practicals when the semester began this month. The plan is for all students of Forms Fourt to Six or equivalent will attend school physically for teaching classes, practicals and school-based assessments as well.
All other students will continue to attend virtual classes.
Guardian Media reached out to the Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly on the impact of the pandemic on local schooling but there was no response.