UN Secretary General Warns the World Is in the Middle of an Education Crisis Because of COVID-19

“We are in the middle of an education crisis. 156 million students are still affected by school closures due to COVID-19, and 25 million may never return” said the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his Twitter account.

According to Mr. Guterres, an effective pandemic recovery requires investment in teachers, digital learning, and systems fit for the future.

On 4 August 2021, the UN Secretary-General launched the “Education in the time of COVID-19 and beyond Policy Brief” warning that the pandemic has created the most severe disruption in the world’s education systems in history and is threatening a loss of learning that may stretch beyond one generation of students.

School closures are also likely to erase decades of progress, according to the Policy Brief, which builds on UNESCO’s data and features recommendations on ways to avert the looming catastrophe.

UNESCO led the drafting of the Secretary-General’s Policy Brief which contains inputs from 15 sister organizations. The Brief calls for national authorities and the international community to come together to place education at the forefront of recovery agendas and protect investment in education. With this objective, UNESCO will convene a special session of the Global Education Meeting before the end of the year.

We are in the middle of an education crisis.

156 million students are still affected by school closures due to #COVID19, and 25 million may never return.

An effective pandemic recovery requires investment in teachers, digital learning, and systems fit for the future. pic.twitter.com/Rq64BespMC

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 1, 2021