Overview: Education During COVID-19
COVID-19 and School Closures
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on education worldwide. At its peak in April 2020, the spread of COVID-19 resulted in full or partial nationwide school closures in close to 200 countries, impacting over 1.5 billion students-more than 90% of the world’s student population (INEE, 2020).The economic and social costs of school closures are extensive and vary by nation and community. It is clear, however, from examining previous instances of nationwide school closure, like that which took place during the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, that students from disadvantaged and/or marginalized groups will be disproportionately affected by the crisis (Malala Fund, 2020).
These students, including children from low income families, children with disabilities, adolescent girls, refugees, internally displaced and migrant children, children of ethnic or linguistic minority, and children engaged in child labor, are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects because pre-existing inequalities within education systems tend to be exacerbated by school closures (UNESCO, 2020).
In today’s COVID-19 landscape, these marginalized groups are at high risk of being left behind as schools implement remote learning strategies that rely on resources like internet access and parental involvement, which unintentionally widen inequalities and reduce the likelihood that these students return to school (UNESCO, 2020).
Vulnerability of Adolescent Girls
Of the marginalized groups affected by the impacts of COVID-19 on education, one especially vulnerable group is adolescent girls-- particularly pregnant girls and young mothers.Pre-existing inequalities in female education are exacerbated by school closures, as girls often have less access to technology and more unpaid domestic responsibilities than boys do at home. Additionally, many girls lose essential nutritional and reproductive health services provided by schools and can be exposed to increased sexual exploitation, gender-based violence, and early marriage or pregnancy while at home under quarantine (Mendez Acosta & Evans, 2021).
Pregnant girls and young mothers are among the most at-risk of falling behind or failing to return to school due to increased childcare and household duties, societal pressure to remain home, and discriminatory policies that prevent pregnant and married girls from attending
school (UNESCO, 2020).
