UNICEF, UNESCO Urge World Leaders to Reopen Schools

World leaders should prioritize reopening schools for in-person learning immediately in order to avoid a “generational catastrophe,” UNICEF and UNESCO said in a joint statement Monday.

The organizations said that keeping schools closed to 156 million students in 19 countries, due to COVID-19, is causing potentially irreparable damage to child development. They also pointed out discrepancies in reopening strategies, which have often opened bars and restaurants while keeping schools shut. “Closing schools mortgages our future for unclear benefits to our present,” the statement read. “We must prioritize better. We can reopen schools safely, and we must.” The statement comes one day before the 2021 Global Education Meeting convenes, an annual event organized by UNESCO that brings together prominent education leaders to address global efforts to improve education.