Schoolchildren worldwide have lost 1.8 trillion hours

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, September 18, 2021: Schoolchildren around the world have lost an estimated 1.8 trillion hours – and counting – of in-person learning since the the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. As a result, young learners have been cut off from their education and the other vital benefits schools provide.

 

To call attention to this education crisis, UNICEF today unveiled ‘No Time to Lose' at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The centerpiece of the installation is a clock, modeled to look like the blackboard of an empty classroom, situated at the UN Visitors’ Plaza in front of the General Assembly Building. The clock is a real-time counter, displaying the growing cumulative number of in-person learning hours every schoolchild in the world has lost and continues to lose since the pandemic's onset. The empty classroom consists of 18 desks, one for every month of the pandemic-caused education disruptions.

 

The installation is being created ahead of the opening of the General Debate of the 76^th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a period when some leaders will take the opportunity to return to United Nations headquarters in person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

 

This year, the General Debate and associated annual meetings will take place in a hybrid format, with many events taking place virtually. The installation, open to delegations that will have elected to attend General Assembly meetings in person, is a stark reminder that millions of schoolchildren remain locked out of their schools and a call for leaders to act urgently on this education crisis.

 

 

UNICEF urges governments, local authorities, and school administrations to reopen schools as soon as possible and take all possible steps to mitigate against transmission of the virus in schools, such as:  

·        Implementing mask policies for students and staff that are by national and local guidelines;

·        Providing handwashing facilities and/or hand sanitizer;

·        Frequently cleaning surfaces and shared objects;

·        Ensuring adequate and appropriate ventilation;

·        Cohorting (keeping students and teachers in small groups that do not mix); staggering start, break, bathroom, meals and end time; and alternating physical presence;

·        Establishing information sharing mechanisms with parents, students, and teachers;

·        While not a prerequisite to reopening schools, teachers should be prioritized to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, after frontline health workers and those most at risk, to protect them from community transmission.