Introduction
Today, there are more than 200 million children around the world who are unable to access primary or secondary school. That’s one in every 10 kids worldwide! The good news is that the number of children receiving a secondary education has risen from 25% to 55% in the past three years. Still, this leaves us with a long way to go before every child gets at least an elementary education. In fact, COVID-19 has already caused 130 schools around the world to close down completely due to lack of funding and resources needed for students’ safety during this crisis. This means millions of young people who could have been educated will now lose out on learning opportunities—and with it their chance at brighter futures!
Millions of children around the world are unable to access primary or secondary school.
The problem is that, while the number of children without access to primary or secondary school has been declining since 2000, it still stands at over 100 million. This lack of education is a barrier to economic and social development. In developing countries with many under-educated citizens, people are less equipped with skills to compete in today’s increasingly digitalized and globalized economy.
The number of children receiving a secondary education has risen from 25% to 55% in the past three years.
The number of children receiving a secondary education has risen from 25% to 55% in the past three years. This is a significant increase and an important step towards achieving universal education. It also shows that progress is being made towards ending poverty and inequality, which are both central to this crisis, as they prevent people from getting access to quality education.
The world’s poorest children will lose $10 billion in learning due to school closures caused by COVID-19.
It’s not just the children who will suffer if COVID-19 continues to spread. The world’s poorest children represent a huge economic opportunity for the global economy. Closing schools due to COVID-19 will deprive these children of $10 billion in learning opportunities, costing the global economy $1 trillion overall.
In addition to the impact on education, there is also an impact on workforce development globally. With nearly half of all jobs requiring some level of postsecondary education or training by 2030 (according to United States Department of Labor), societies are at risk when schools are closed for weeks or months at a time due to outbreaks like COVID-19.
The world needs to invest more money and resources into education
Education is a human right. The United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all people should have access to quality education, including preschool, primary school and secondary school.
However, this isn’t happening.
The World Bank estimates that 712 million children are out of school today. In addition, 1 billion young people around the world do not have basic literacy and numeracy skills required for employment or further learning. This means they cannot read or write even simple sentences in their own language – and this is an obstacle to achieving their rights as citizens who can make informed decisions about their lives, communities and societies.
As well as being a fundamental human right for all people regardless of gender or race; education is also critical for economic growth as it leads directly to greater prosperity across nations worldwide – particularly through improved life expectancy rates among populations at large
Conclusion
It’s clear that the world is in need of a solution. While there are many ways to go about fixing this issue, it’s important for us to look at how we can best invest our resources as well as how we can make sure that children are able to continue learning despite disruptions caused by natural disasters or conflict.
