The impact of COVID-19 on unprivileged girls’

education

It is estimated that over 89% of all the students enrolled in education

globally have been out of school at one point of the pandemic. That is
1.54 billion children and youth enrolled in school or university, this number
includes nearly 743 million girls. For 111 million of these girls, it has
already been a struggle to enrol in schools as they live in the least
developed countries.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in the past 20 years, the number of girls
not enrolled in school globally dropped by 79 million. This progress was
achieved with decades of work towards getting more girls in classrooms
and narrowing the gender gap in access to education. But today’s pandemic
is putting all of that progress at risk.

Plan International and UNESCO warn of the potential for increased drop-
out rates which will needlessly affect young women, make gender gaps in
education even bigger and lead to increased risk of sexual and labour
exploitation, premature pregnancy and, minor and forced marriage.

There are certain actions that we as a society can take to minimise the
impact of the pandemic on unprivileged girls globally.

1. Reduce financial boundaries preventing girls from getting an education

and that are most probably going to increase due to economic crashes
caused by the pandemic.

Poorer families are the ones who are being hit the hardest. A recent study
in Kenya showed that 68 percent of examinees had skipped a meal or
eaten less because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting aside
school and examination fees could aid girls’ return to school.
After the Ebola epidemic, the Sierra Leone government discharged tuition
and examination fees for all students for two academic years to motivate
parents to send children back to school.

2. Governments must prioritise measures to protect girls from gender-

based violence, premature marriage, and pregnancy to aid their return to
school.

During the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic, girls were unfairly affected by

gender-based violence, resulting in a spike in premature pregnancies and
thousands of young females unable to complete their education. We have
already seen the increase in violence against women and girls in COVID-19
lockdowns.

3. Giving the voice and opportunity of participation to young females.

Adolescent girls can be agents of change in their communities.

Innovative approaches can help to highlight girls’ voices. For example, Plan
International utilises a “photovoice” approach to capture what adolescent
girls in the Solomon Islands identify as the barriers preventing them from
completing secondary education.

As the whole world is focused on saving lives, we must not forget that girls’
lives depend on the education they are receiving today. Ultimately, these
girls are the ones who are going to help their families and their nations
recover from the pandemic
Written by Nadežda Mitić

Refferences used in this text:

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/covid-19-school-closures-around-
world-will-hit-girls-hardest
https://odi.org/en/publications/teenage-pregnancy-after-ebola-in-sierra-
leone-mapping-responses-gaps-and-ongoing-challenges/
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus
development/2020/05/15/5-actions-to-help-bring-the-most-
marginalized-girls-back-to-school-after-covid-19/
https://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/2020PGY_CovidKenyaKAPStu
dyResultsBriefRound2.pdf
https://www.unfpa.org/news/millions-more-cases-violence-child-
marriage-female-genital-mutilation-unintended-pregnancies
https://www.unicef.org/documents/practical-tips-engaging-adolescents-
youth-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-response
https://www.plan.org.au/news/education/solomon-islands-girls-
education-reports/