Closure of 1.5 million schools in India due to Covid-19 pandemic impacts 247 million children

The closure of 1.5 million schools in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has impacted the lives of nearly 247 million children in the country.

In India, the closure of 1.5 million schools due to the pandemic and lockdowns in 2020 has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools. In addition, there are over six million girls and boys who were already out of school even before the COVID-19 crisis began. Online education is not an option for all as only one in four children has access to digital devices and internet connectivity. Pre-COVID, only a quarter of households (24 percent) in India had access to the internet and there is a large rural-urban and gender divide. Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost a full year, said UNICEF. UNICEF has also unveiled ‘Pandemic Classroom’ at United Nations Headquarters in New York to call attention to the need for governments to prioritise the reopening of schools.