Unequal access to remote schooling amid COVID-19 threatens to deepen global learning crisis—UNICEF

As nearly 1.2 billion schoolchildren remain affected by school closures and as they grapple with the realities of remote learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF warns inherent inequalities in access to tools and technology threaten to deepen the global learning crisis. In 71 countries worldwide, less than half the population has access to the internet. Despite this disparity, 73 per cent of governments out of 127 reporting countries are using online platforms to deliver education while schools remain closed. In reporting countries across Latin America and the Caribbean region 90 percent of government continuity learning responses include online platforms. In the majority of countries across Africa less than a quarter of the population has internet access. UNICEF data from 14 countries revealed that schoolchildren with internet access at home have higher foundational reading skills than children who do not have access.

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05/06/2020
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