The global coronavirus pandemic, which has closed many schools indefinitely, has had a huge effect on students — 1.5 billion of them around the world, according to Robert Jenkins, UNICEF’s chief of education.
“This is a whole new scale that even our worst-case scenario wouldn’t have thought of,” he told Yahoo News in an interview.
UNICEF is tailoring its approach based on the availability of mobile networks and access to e-learning technology, and employing low-tech solutions such as radio broadcasts and print where necessary. “We need to take a comprehensive view on not only learning but the support that schools provide children,” Jenkins said. “The solution will be different for each child, and each community, and each country.
Jenkins pointed to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa as an example of the effects of prolonged school closures. According to Jenkins, UNICEF saw a marked increase in violence against young women and a spike in teenage pregnancy in the affected countries during that time.
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