Unicef: Almost 86 million children in Latin America are still out of school

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Around 86 million children and adolescents are still out of the classroom in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the covid-19 pandemic, Unicef warned Thursday based on its latest estimates.

“During the last 18 months, most children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean have not seen their teachers or friends outside of a screen. Those who don’t have internet directly have not seen them,” said Unicef’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough.

Gough pointed out that “virtual education must continue and improve, but it is clear that the most marginalized families have not had access to learning.”

He added that “every day out of the classroom brings children and adolescents closer to school dropout, gang violence, abuse or human trafficking.”

The UN agency also noted that some 47 million children in the region returned to “face-to-face learning” due to “efforts by several countries to accelerate the reopening of schools, either partially or fully.”

“It is encouraging to see more schools reopening every day and more children, adolescents, teachers and professors returning to school in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Gough said.

Latin America has “had more uninterrupted school closures than any other region of the world” during the pandemic.” The UN body said that an average of 153 school days had been lost since the onset of the health crisis, causing the most prolonged interruption to learning in the region’s modern history.

The school acts as a “safe space” for children to “interact, play and grow together,” Unicef said, stressing that schools are not associated with increased transmission of covid-19.

Even in areas with high pandemic rates, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends considering face-to-face learning. “More and more countries in the region are demonstrating that face-to-face learning is possible; others urgently need to get their children and adolescents back in the classroom,” said Gough.

The director noted that “the risks of staying out of school are too high (…) children and adolescents in this region have already missed more than a year of school. They cannot afford to lose another day of face-to-face learning.”

Unicef has worked with countries to develop back-to-school strategies and urged governments in the region “to open all schools as soon as possible.”

Together with the World Bank and Unesco, Unicef made a joint call for specific programs to return to schools, help students catch up on lost learning, and support teachers in incorporating digital technology into their teaching.