Prolonged school closures due to COVID-19 pose threat to gender equality: UNESCO study

24

Nov

PRAKSHI RAWAT

As per a new UNESCO study, educational disruption caused by extended school closures from around world will also have significant effects on learning loss but also represent a threat to gender equality. The global study "When Schools Close: Gendered Consequences of COVID-19 School Closures" highlights how school closures affect girls and boys, young girls and boys differently depending on circumstances.

“Education ministry also stated for oxygen cylinder, oxygen concentrator, in schools and colleges. They also mentioned “we are doing it for future”. After this statement all the oxygen plants and acetylene plants got alert from ministry to boost there production. "At the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures touched 1.6 billion students in 190 countries".

"Not only did they lose access to higher education, but also to the numerous advantages of taking classes, on an unimaginable scale," stated UNESCO Acting Director for Education Stefania Giannini.

"This standard of academic disruption has serious consequences for the rest of learning loss and school dropout. Beyond that, it represents a danger to gender equality, including gender-specific effects on health, well-being, and protection," Giannini stated.

The paper demonstrates that gender standards and expectations might limit the capacity to interact in and profit from online instruction, based on evidence from more than 90 countries as well as in data collected in local communities.

"In poorer situations, additional family tasks limited girls' chance to learn. Income-generating activities restricted boys' involvement in school. Limited access to internet-enabled devices, a lack of digital skills, and societal practices prohibiting their use of emerging science made it difficult for girls to engage in digital remote samples in very many circumstances, as per the survey. The authors point out that digital gender-divide was always a worry before the COVID-19 incident.

"In-depth investigations in the international report on Bangladesh and Pakistan indicated gendered impacts on virtual learning during school closures. In the Pakistan survey, just 44% of girls in participating districts were responsible for taking the appropriate smartphone for personal use, compared to 93% of boys. "Girls who did not even have access to phones indicated relying on their relatives' phones, mainly those belonging to their fathers," the survey indicated.

"Though some of the girls were able to be using the phones of family and friends, that's not always the case. Their access was limited because certain parents were worried that allowing females access to smartphones could lead to misuse and inappropriate interactions." "The longer a girl remained out of school, the better the likelihood of losing her education." The proportion of girls reporting that they did not learn at all increased from 1% to 10% between April and September 2020," it decided to add.

The report has had several recommendations here about how to overcome gender-based barriers to remote required to learn participation, mentioning that the pandemic serves as a good reminder that schools are mostly not places for learning, but then also lifelines for males and females – an essential space for their health, well-being, and safety.