A "global educational emergency": Unicef and Unesco sound the alarm
24 million children are at risk of never returning to school after the health crisis.
OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP
Text by: Lou Roméo Follow
6 min
As the Covid epidemic has plunged 150 million more children into poverty, a recent Unesco report warns of the risk of large-scale dropouts.
This particularly problematic situation calls into question the progress made in recent years, and the future of the children concerned.
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“
The biggest educational disruption in history
”.
A
Unesco report estimates that nearly 1.6 billion children and adolescents have been deprived of school education, in 190 different countries, due to the coronavirus epidemic.
And among them, many may never be able to return to school.
A consequence of the particularly problematic health crisis, when we know to what extent dropout and poverty are linked.
"
The coronavirus crisis risks destroying 20 years of efforts and continuous progress in the field of education,
deplores Julien Beauhaire, spokesperson for
the NGO Plan International
, specializing in child protection and especially little girls.
Since
1995, 327
million
additional children, 55
%
of them
girls, have been able to attend school.
But the health crisis calls everything into question
.
"
Nine months after the start of the epidemic, 850 million children are in fact still deprived of school across the world, or half of the numbers worldwide.
53 countries have not reopened their schools.
In West and Central Africa, only
one in three countries
is ready to welcome students safely.
Unicef further estimates that of this population, nearly 463 million children cannot benefit from distance education.
Almost a third of
the world's
schoolchildren
are therefore completely deprived of education during their confinement.
A risk of massive school dropout
"
We know, thanks to the Ebola crisis, that the longer children stay out of school, the less likely they are to return
," explains Farah Malek-Bakouche, international advocacy officer at Unicef France.
At least 24
million children are expected to drop out of school altogether.
And children with a low level of education are most at risk of poverty throughout their lives.
They also have a shorter life expectancy and poorer health outcomes
.
This is more than double the forecasts drawn up in July 2020 by
the NGO Save The Children.
Stopping schooling permanently has harmful consequences, well beyond the sole pedagogical aspect.
Unicef recalls that school is not only a place of socialization and protection but that it is also often the place where children can have access to meals, vaccines and health services.
The risks of violence,
work
, early marriage and pregnancy therefore increase considerably once a child drops out of school.
A
recent report
co-authored by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF warns of the risk of an increase in child labor following the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic and the closure of schools.
While the number of working children has fallen by nearly 94 million in 20 years, there could be millions of them having to go to work in the coming months, a first since 2000.
Young girls particularly vulnerable
Young women are not spared either.
The closure of schools is for many synonymous with an increase in domestic chores.
Originally from Mozambique, Ana, 17, confided to Plan International in September: “
I no longer have time to study, because there is a lot to do during the day.
I get up early to get water so that I can cook, wash and clean.
Since the coronavirus, this has been my priority, so I no longer have the time to open books.
"
5 months pregnant, she will not be able to return to school after giving birth anyway.
“
With the Covid-19
pandemic
,
alarms Julien Beauhaire
, it is 13
million
additional young girls who could be married before their majority.
This represents a potential of 7
million unwanted births in the next ten years.
"
And teenage pregnancies are often synonymous with poverty for young mothers, who usually cannot continue their education after, and even before, giving birth.
If Zimbabwe for its part changed its legislation on this subject in August 2020, by condemning the expulsion of pregnant girls from schools, many countries continue to deny them access.
Harm to society as a whole
Young girls therefore belong to the most vulnerable populations in the event of a crisis.
“
Girls are 2.5
times more likely than boys to be out of school,”
continues Julien Beauhaire.
They are always the first to go by the wayside when the going is tough.
“And stopping studies is detrimental for the whole of society, beyond the individual.
"
It is estimated that an additional year of study allows a woman to increase her income by 10
to
20
%
," he says
.
And if women's incomes increase, so does the country's GDP, as does per capita wealth.
"
And the situation is not limited only to the poorest countries.
The NGO Plan International launched
a collection of testimonies in September
.
7,000 girls aged 15 to 24 spoke of their anxiety about their future and their pursuit of education, whether they come from developed or developing countries.
“
This is what is
amazing
,
concludes Julien Beauhaire.
The crisis following the Covid-19 epidemic affects all countries, whatever they may be.
All the young girls interviewed told us about their anguish.
"
►Also read:
Covid: the pandemic is accompanied by an increase in child malnutrition
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