The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Philippines to reopen its schools for in-person learning especially for young Filipino children who have continued to miss out on education opportunities since the start of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in February 2020.
According to UNICEF, the Philippines is one of just five countries in the world that have not started in-person classes since the pandemic began, affecting the right to learn of more than 27 million Filipino students. The other countries are Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Venezuela.
The UN agency for children is advocating for a “phased” reopening of schools beginning in “low-risk areas,” adding that this step can be done on a voluntary basis with proper safety protocols in place amid the new variants that are causing a rise in infections.
“We must reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as possible, and we must immediately address the gaps in learning this pandemic has already created. Unless we do, some children may never catch up,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement released Thursday, Aug. 26.
She stressed that the child’s first day of school is a “landmark moment” in a child's life—setting them off on a life-changing path of personal learning and growth.
“Most of us can remember countless minor details—what clothes we wore, our teacher's name, who we sat next to. But for millions of children, that important day has been indefinitely postponed," Fore said. "As classes resume in many parts of the world, millions of first graders have been waiting to see the inside of a classroom for over a year. Millions more may not see one at all this school term. For the most vulnerable, their risk of never stepping into a classroom in their lifetime is skyrocketing."
With the call for school reopening, the UNICEF also asked the Philippines to provide a comprehensive recovery response for students, and together with the World Bank and UNESCO, by focusing on three key priorities for recovery in schools:
- Targeted programs to bring all children and youth back in school where they can access tailored services to meet their learning, health, psychosocial well-being, and other needs;
- Effective remedial learning to help students catch up on lost learning;
- Support for teachers to address learning losses and incorporate digital technology into their teaching.
UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov noted that in 2020, schools globally were fully closed for an average of 79 teaching days, while the Philippines has been closed for more than a year, forcing students to enroll in distance learning modalities.
“The associated consequences of school closures – learning loss, mental distress, missed vaccinations, and heightened risk of drop out, child labor, and child marriage – will be felt by many children, especially the youngest learners in critical development stages,” Dendevnorov said.
UNESCO stressed the importance of the first grade in setting up the building blocks for all future learning, with introductions to reading, writing, and math.
It is also a period when in-person learning helps children gain independence, adapt to new routines, and develop meaningful relationships with teachers and students. In-person learning also enables teachers to identify and address learning delays, mental health issues, and abuse that could negatively affect children’s well-being.
UNESCO said studies have shown that positive school experiences during this transition period are a predictor of children’s future social, emotional and educational outcomes. At the same time, children who fall behind in learning during the early years often stay behind for the remaining time they spend in school, and the gap widens over the years. The number of years of education a child receives also directly affects their future earnings.
In the following weeks leading to the supposed opening of schools in the Philippines on Sept. 13, UNICEF will continue to mobilize its partners and the public to prevent this education crisis from becoming an education catastrophe.
Online and offline campaigns will rally world leaders, teachers, and parents around a common cause: reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as possible. The future of the world’s most vulnerable children is at stake.
UNESCO also cited the World Bank estimates of a $10-trillion loss in earnings over time for this entire generation unless mitigation measures are implemented.
“Existing evidence shows the cost of addressing learning gaps are lower and more effective when they are tackled earlier, and that investments in education support economic recovery, growth and prosperity,” it said.