A GROUP of 275 former world leaders, economists and educationalists have called on G20 nations and other countries to take action to prevent the global health crisis creating a ‘COVID generation’ – tens of millions of children with no hope of an education.

The leaders – including many presidents and prime ministers – say urgent measures are now required and as country lockdowns come to an end, an immediate priority is the fate of 30 million children who, according to a UNESCO report, may never return to school.

Locked out

In a letter to G20 heads, national governments and global financial institutions, the former leaders also warn that the world’s poorest children have been locked out of learning, denied internet access and, with the loss of free school meals – once a lifeline for 300 million boys and girls – hunger is growing.

The letter states: “We write to call for urgent action to address the global education emergency triggered by Covid-19. With over 1 billion children still out of school because of the lockdown, there is now a real and present danger that the public health crisis will create a COVID generation who lose out on schooling and whose opportunities are permanently damaged. 

“While the more fortunate have had access to alternatives, the world’s poorest children have been locked out of learning, denied internet access, and with the loss of free school meals – once a lifeline for 300 million boys and girls – hunger has grown.”

Immediate concern

It goes on: “An immediate concern, as we bring the lockdown to an end, is the fate of an estimated 30 million children who according to UNESCO may never return to school.

“For these, the world’s least advantaged children, education is often the only escape from poverty – a route that is in danger of closing. Many of these children are adolescent girls for whom being in school is the best defence against forced marriage and the best hope for a life of expanded opportunity.”

Among the signatories of the letter are Dr Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, NYU; Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan (2004-2007) Jan Peter Balkenende – Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2002-2010), Joyce Banda – President of Malawi (2012-2014), Valdis Birkavs – Prime Minister of Latvia (1993-1994) and Tony Blair – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007).

The World Bank now estimates that over the next year overall education spending in low and middle-income countries could be $100-150 billion lower than previously planned.

Emergency

Inger Ashing, CEO of the charity Save the Children, said: “COVID-19is a global public health crisis that has left the world facing an unprecedented education emergency.

“That emergency threatens to rob millions of children of their right to education, exacerbating inequalities linked to wealth and gender – and trapping entire countries in a downward spiral of slow growth, rising poverty, and shrinking opportunity.

“Governments should be investing in learning, instead we’re facing unparalleled budget cuts. The international community is sleepwalking into an avoidable education disaster that will scar an entire generation.”