COVID-19 Update –  The coronavirus pandemic has triggered an education crisis of unprecedented scale since the lockdowns began worldwide in March and April.  By October, at least 600 million children will still not be returning to their classrooms, most of them in the developing world. (https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse This means a reduction in learning outcomes and most probably, an increase in school drop outs, especially among girls.  This is expected to translate into more than 7 million child marriages ( https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/COVID-19_impact_brief_for_UNFPA_24_April_2020_1.pdf).  The Global Partnership for Education  is responding to the challenge.

Education

Lack of education is an indicator of poverty.  It is also a key factor in the intergenerational transmission of poverty.  Fortunately, conversely, no child born of a literate mother will grow up illiterate. Lack of education touches girls more than boys:  girls are 50% more likely to never set foot in a classroom than boys Solutions are clear:
  • more classes and teachers
  • teacher training
  • latrines
  • a special attention to girls
The Global Partnership for Education has a track record that can justify the international community’s optimism with sharp increases in enrollment, in particular for girls.  The Education Financing Facility is being set up to take up a similar challenge in middle income countries where pockets of deep poverty persist.  Unfortunately, the Canadian contribution to global education, in particular to basic education, does not appear to be up to the challenge.

Key Reference Documents

The global partnership for education

The education finance facility

Canadian contribution to global education

Canadian contribution to basic education

Key Organizations

External Resources