The
report reveals a ‘nearly insurmountable’ scale of lost schooling due to Covid. 

The
large number of people who have dropped out of school as a result of the Coronavirus
pandemic is almost impossible to control. 

This is stated in a research report released by the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

The study found that 70 percent of 10-year-olds in poor and
middle-class countries are unable to write or understand a simple sentence, up
from 53 percent before the Corona pandemic. 

covid schools
Getty images BBC

A report released by UNICEF further states that the closure of
educational institutions due to the COVID has affected more than 635 million
children worldwide. Children, especially those belonging to the small and poor
classes, suffered the most during the two years of the pandemic. 

The report also called for support to help students. 

From Ethiopia to the United States, children were deprived of basic
education, while their accounting skills, mental and physical health were affected. 

In South Africa, up to 75% of school-going children lag one school
year, and more than half a million dropped out of school between March 2020 and
October 2021. 

In Ethiopia, children of primary school age learned only 30 to 40
percent of mathematics compared to the normal school year. 

Globally, the closure of educational institutions during this
period deprived 370 million children of food in schools, making it the only
reliable source of nutrition for most children throughout the day. 

Robert Jenkins, UNICEF’s head of education, said March would mark
the second year in a row that the code would affect global education. The fact
is that during this time we have seen almost irreparable damage to children’s
education. 

He said that barriers in education should be removed but the reopening
of schools was not enough and students would need a lot of support so that they
could recover from the damage done so far. 

He
said that schools should work on educational as well as mental and physical
health, social development, and rehabilitation of children.