COVID-19: Education preparedness and response
UNICEF's response to the educational challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean region during COVID-19
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As COVID-19 has grown in Latin America and the Caribbean region, 23 countries and 12 independent states in the region have decided to progressively close their educational institutions at all levels. As a result, it is estimated that over 140 million children and adolescentshave been affected at preschool, primary and secondary levels throughout the region, in addition to the 10.4 million of children and adolescents that were already out-of-school[1].
While the closure period of schools is still uncertain, an extended interruption of education can have serious consequences: children risk to fall far behind in their learning and those who were already vulnerable may never return to school. Moreover, closure of schools also entails the interruption of access to other important basic services provided by schools such as school feeding, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, recreational programs, extracurricular activities, as well as pedagogical and psychosocial support.
[1] Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics
Main Challenges
- Limited access of most vulnerable children to online learning platforms.
- Some countries do not have an online national curriculum, nor content adapted to children and adolescents with disabilities, indigenous children, migrants and refugees.
- Limited knowledge and capacity of teachers to use online platforms and distance learning resources.
- Limited offline initiatives to respond to educational needs of most vulnerable children without internet access.
- Lack of educational materials culturally sensitive and adapted to all languages spoken in the region.
- Lack of tools to monitor and evaluate progress of learning outcomes.
