Key data: The world’s schools are reopening
- Oct 14, 2024
- 1 min read
16 Jun 2020
But hundreds of millions of learners are still cut off from the classroom
BY THE VARKEY FOUNDATION
Around the world, schools are beginning to open their doors to students once again. Data published by UNESCO’s education sector show that governments are gradually easing the country-wide school closures imposed to check the spread of COVID-19.
The data, which track national school closures country by country, show the frightening speed at which the global pandemic disrupted education around the world earlier this year. The majority of the world’s most populous nations shut down their school systems in the space of just a few weeks at the beginning of March.
The national shutdowns have been unprecedented in scope and scale. By April, UNESCO’s data show that the country-wide closures were affecting nine in 10 learners globally. Today, the organization estimates that these closures are still affecting 60% of the world’s student population. That’s over a billion learners still shut out of the classroom by COVID-19 and the measures intended to contain it.
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It's striking to see how rapidly schools around the world were closed due to COVID-19, impacting so many learners. The fact that 60% of students are still unable to return to the classroom is a sobering reminder of the pandemic's ongoing effects. As someone who has been following educational shifts, I find it crucial that we support platforms that help students stay engaged, like those in gaming or interactive learning. For instance, I recently enjoyed playing Apostate Verity, which offers a unique approach to learning through gameplay.
It's heartbreaking to see that even as schools begin to reopen, 60% of learners are still out of the classroom. This disruption has lasting effects on education, and we must find ways to support those students. On a positive note, as we look for creative solutions, I recently discovered some fun tools like Photo From Emoji, which could help educators engage students in new ways while they adjust back to in-person learning.
One lesson that became clear during school reopenings is that academic recovery and student wellbeing need to progress together rather than as separate priorities. Many learners returned with very different experiences, making flexibility in teaching just as important as catching up on missed content. That also has implications for teacher preparation, as educators increasingly benefit from broader professional development alongside subject expertise. Programmes such as bsc (hons) can complement practical classroom experience by strengthening research, critical thinking, and evidence-based decision-making when responding to changing educational challenges.
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