Education

Since March 2020 the whole world has been turned upside down. There is not a
single sector which has not been affected by the covid19 pandemic. If things weren’t
going smoothly before, now due to the pandemic every problem has been brought to
surface and demands that it is dealt with. Beside the affected health care system,
another hotly debated topic has been the education system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in
history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all
continents. Closing down schools and other learning spaces has impacted 94% of the
world’s student population, up to 99 % in low and lower-middle income countries.

The crisis has reduced the opportunities for many vulnerable children, girls, refugees,
adults to continue their learning.

Decades of progress risk to be erased. Some 23.8 million children and youth may
drop out or not have access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic
impact alone. Similarly, the hit on the education system has had, and will continue to
have, substantial effects beyond education. Closures of educational institutions
hinder the provision of essential services to children and communities, including
access to food, affect the ability of many parents to work, and increase risks of
violence against women and girls.

On the other hand, this crisis has stimulated innovation within the education sector.
We have seen new approaches in support of education and training continuity: from
radio and television to take-home packages. We have also been reminded of the
essential role of teachers and that governments and other key partners have an
ongoing duty of care to education personnel. However, despite the new
tehchnological approaches, the issue of equality of opportunity is more and more
visible.

If in 2020 there are still people living in extreme poverty, with no access to food,
water or electricity, not only from underdeveloped countries, but also from
developed ones, like the rural side of Romania, how can we expect everyone to have
access to these distant learning machines in order to further access education?