Nearly 95 percent of early childhood, primary and secondary schools in the region are closed due to the pandemic, and the percentage is growing fast, said the Unicef this Monday, March 23th, in a statement based on data from Unesco, the UN’s education and culture arm.
“This is an unprecedented education crisis in the recent history of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Bernt Aasen, Unicef’s director for the region.
Aasen also warned that if the situation spreads, there is a great risk that children will fall behind in their learning curve and that the most vulnerable students will not return to the classroom.
Unicef urged to promote accessible content on radio and television for those minors at risk of exclusion, without access to the Internet, with disabilities, migrants and indigenous communities.
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The closure of schools also affects access to other important services: food, recreation, extracurricular activities, and pedagogical support, as well as health and water and hygiene services.
That is why Unicef and its partners are launching this week the region-wide digital campaign #AprendoEnCasa, to provide to families and teachers with free educational and entertainment tools, as well as advice and examples of good health and hygiene practices.
The UN agency said it is working with the governments of the region and other partners to develop flexible learning methods, with both digital, radio and television content, as well as reading material and guided tasks.