The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed January 24 in 2018 as the International Day of Education aiming at celebrating the role of education for peace and development.
Covid-19 pandemic continues to plague education, severely undermining learning opportunities for students at all levels of education.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), globally, more than 570 million students – 33 percent of the enrolled students worldwide –were affected by countrywide school closures in 30 nations (as of November 2020).
Besides, the number of children living in multidimensional poverty is estimated to have soared by 15 percent – an additional 150 million children by mid-2020.
Participation in decision-making, quality education, internet access and the climate crisis are among the main concerns for children and young people in Africa and Europe, according to U-Report polling data released on 22 January 2021 by UNICEF, the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU).
“When children and young people speak, the world should listen,” said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director.
“Whether their countries are rich or poor, at war or in peace, their demands are the same: A better say in decisions affecting them, a healthier planet, and better opportunities. At a time when so many hopes have been dashed due to a raging pandemic and rising poverty, this is not too much to ask,” she added.
Earlier on January 22, the World Bank suggested that countries must mobilize, invest effectively and creatively to make the most of limited resources, and embrace a new vision of education for the future.
Before the coronavirus spread around the world, over a quarter billion children were not attending school globally. And an estimated 53% of children in low- and middle-income countries suffered from learning poverty—unable to read and understand a simple text at the age of 10. We were already facing a learning crisis, said the World Bank.
The World Bank described that as the public health emergency continues to rage, an additional 72 million children have seen their learning and long-term prospects undermined. Countries are being driven even further off-track from achieving their education goals – potentially increasing learning poverty levels to 63 percent.
Beyond the tragic consequences for members of this generation, who face unfulfilled potential and collective future earning losses of up to $10 trillion, countries could suffer a long-term shortfall in the skilled human capital they will need to recover and sustain their economic growth, said the World Bank.
Earlier on January 21, a writ was filed with the High Court, seeking directives to reopen all the educational institutions in Bangladesh.
Supreme Court lawyer Faruk Alamgir Chowdhury filed the writ petition on behalf of Principal of Mirzapur Public School and College in Gazipur Sadar Upazila.
Authorities concerned, including the University Grant Commission (UGC) Chairman, Director General of Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Secretary of Education Ministry, were made respondents to the writ.
Earlier on January 11, a legal notice in this regard was sent to the secretary of the Ministry of Education but no measure has been taken so far.
The notice had sought no further extension of the closure of educational institutions after January 16 as it has been extended 11 times last year due to coronavirus pandemic, said Faruk Alamgir.
The closure of educational institutions is impacting the students negatively, he said.
On January 15, the Bangladesh government extended the closure of educational institutions until January 30 as the coronavirus situation shows no sign of improvement.
The government shut schools and educational institutions on March 17 last year after the country confirmed its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. The closure was extended several times, most recently until Jan 16 this year.
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