UN: 463M Children Around the World Can’t Access Remote Learning
According to the new report of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused the closure of schools, there is an estimated 463 million or 31 percent of schoolchildren around the globe that cannot be reached by digital and broadcast remote schooling programs.
The report of UNICEF stated that millions of students were cut off from education because of a lack of remote learning policies or lack of equipment needed for learning at home.
In addition, 90 percent of countries worldwide have implemented some form of remote learning policy and around 1.5 billion children were affected by the closure of schools.
Here’s the statement of the UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore:
“For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, there was no such a thing as remote learning.”
“The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency. The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come.”
Number of Students Unable to Access Remote Learning
Here are the minimum numbers of students per region who cannot be reached with remote learning according to UNICEF:
- East and Southern Africa: 67 million (49% )
- West and Central Africa: 54 million (48%)
- East Asia and the Pacific: 80 million 20%
- Middle East and North Africa: 37 million (40% )
- South Asia: 147 million (38%)
- Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 25 million (34% )
- Latin America and the Caribbean: 13 million (9%)
Eastern and Southern Africa, with 67 million or 49 %, is on the top list of the minimum share of students that cannot be reached.
Most Common Approach
In the UNICEF report, the most common approach was Internet/PC or Digital Instruction. Here are the percentage of each level of education using digital instruction:
- 42 percent of countries Pre-primary Education.
- 74 percent of countries Primary Education.
- 75 percent for Lower Secondary Education.
- 77 percent of countries Upper Secondary Education.
Also, aside from using the Internet/PC, other countries also used television and radio.
Furthermore, according to the report it is stated that despite the fact that using television does not offer a convenient way to transmit course material it has the potential to reach most students which is about 930 million students globally.
In addition, the majority of the students who cannot be reached by digital and broadcast remote learning programs are from rural areas and poor households according to the study.
Source: UNICEF, COVID-19: Are children able to continue learning during school closures?, COVID-19: At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren unable to access remote learning during school closures, new report says
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