The phrase “quality education” is used frequently in the context of development. It is also the focus of the fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. An education, then, allows for upward socioeconomic mobility and is the key to escaping poverty. Over the past decade, much progress has been made in increasing access to education and schooling at all levels, especially for girls. However, around 260 million children were still out of school in 2018 - almost a fifth of the global population in that age group. And more than half of children and young people worldwide do not meet the minimum proficiency standards in reading and math. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, the majority of countries announced temporary school closures, affecting more than 91% of students worldwide. By April 2020, nearly 1. 6 billion children and young people were out of school. And the nearly 369 million children who rely on school meals need to find other sources of nutrition every day. Never before have so many children dropped out of school at the same time, disrupting their studies and affecting the lives of children, especially the most disadvantaged and disadvantaged groups. The global pandemic has far-reaching consequences that could jeopardize hard-won gains in global education improvement.
The phrase “quality
education”
is
used
frequently
in the context of development. It is
also
the focus of the fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. An
education
, then,
allows
for upward socioeconomic mobility and is the key to escaping poverty. Over the past decade, much progress has
been made
in increasing access to
education
and schooling at all levels,
especially
for girls.
However
, around 260 million
children
were
still
out of
school
in 2018
-
almost a fifth of the global population in that age group. And more than half of
children
and young
people
worldwide do not
meet
the minimum proficiency standards in reading and math. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, the majority of countries announced temporary
school
closures, affecting more than 91% of students worldwide. By April 2020,
nearly
1. 6 billion
children
and young
people
were out of
school
. And the
nearly
369 million
children
who rely on
school
meals need to find other sources of nutrition every day. Never
before
have
so
many
children
dropped out of
school
at the same time, disrupting their studies and affecting the
lives
of
children
,
especially
the most disadvantaged and disadvantaged groups. The global pandemic has far-reaching consequences that could jeopardize
hard
-won gains in global
education
improvement.