In Bangladesh, prolonged closure of educational institutions throughout the pandemic has affected over 40 million students from the pre-primary to the higher education level, according to UNICEF.
The longer children remain out of school, the less likely they are to return as they face increased risks of violence, child labour and child marriage, the agency said in a new report on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
“Schools closures and lack of in-person teaching and learning activities have an extremely serious impact, not only on children’s education but also on their health, protection and psychosocial well-being,” said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF representative in Bangladesh.
Schools in Bangladesh have remained closed due to the pandemic since March 2020, dubbed as the second-longest COVID-19 school closure in the world by UNICEF.
The government has announced plans to reopen schools several times but has backtracked in the face of a rising COVID-19 caseload.
“Marginalised children are suffering the heaviest losses, which push them further into poverty and inequalities now and in the future,” Hozumi said.
He stated that UNICEF is prioritising a safe reopening of schools and investing in remediation of learning losses for those most affected.
“Our decisions today will influence these children throughout their entire lives,” he added.
Studies have shown that positive school experiences during this transition period are a predictor of children’s future social, emotional and educational outcomes.
At the same time, children who fall behind in learning during the early years often stay behind for the remaining time they spend in school, and the gap widens over the years. The number of years of education a child receives also directly affects their future earnings.
UNICEF Bangladesh says it is working with the government towards safely reopening schools. This includes the development of guidelines, including safety measures such as children and teachers masking up and washing their hands with soap and water in school, the report said.
The UN agency is also helping communicate with children, parents and educators to build their confidence that it is possible to return to school safely.
In the following weeks, UNICEF will continue to mobilise its partners and the public to prevent this education crisis from becoming an education catastrophe, the agency said. Online and offline campaigns will rally world leaders, teachers, and parents around a common cause: reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as possible.
"The first day of school is a landmark moment in a child's life – setting them off on a life-changing path of personal learning and growth. But for millions of children, that important day has been indefinitely postponed," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
For an estimated eight million of these students, the wait for their first day of in-person learning has been over a year and counting, as they live in places where schools have been closed throughout the pandemic.
This number includes almost four million first-time learners from Bangladesh, where educational institutions have been closed since Mar 17, 2020, the agency said.
"As classes resume in many parts of the world, millions of first graders have been waiting to see the inside of a classroom for over a year. Millions more may not see one at all this school term. For the most vulnerable, their risk of never stepping into a classroom in their lifetime is skyrocketing."
The first grade sets up the building blocks for all future learning, with introductions to reading, writing, and math, according to UNICEF. It's also a period when in-person learning helps children gain independence, adapt to new routines, and develop meaningful relationships with teachers and students.
In-person learning also enables teachers to identify and address learning delays, mental health issues, and abuse that could negatively affect children’s well-being.
In 2020, schools globally were fully closed for an average of 79 teaching days, according to UNICEF. However, for 168 million students, after the pandemic began, schools were shuttered for nearly the entire year.
Even now, many children are facing an unprecedented second year of disruption to their education. The associated consequences of school closures – learning loss, mental distress, missed vaccinations, and heightened risk of dropout, child labour, and child marriage – will be felt by many children, especially the youngest learners in critical development stages.
While countries worldwide are taking some actions to provide remote learning, at least 29 per cent of primary students are not being reached. In addition to lack of assets for remote learning, the youngest children may not be able to participate due to a lack of support using the technology, a poor learning environment, pressure to do household chores, or being forced to work.
Together with the World Bank and UNESCO, the agency called for governments to focus on three key priorities for recovery in schools: targeted programmes to bring all children and youth back in school, effective remedial learning to help students catch up on lost learning and support for teachers to address learning losses and incorporate digital technology into their teaching.
"Your first day of school is a day of hope and possibility – a day for getting off to a good start. But not all children are getting off to a good start. Some children are not even starting at all," said Fore.
"We must reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as possible, and we must immediately address the gaps in learning this pandemic has already created. Unless we do, some children may never catch up."