We must ensure the ‘new normal’ for every school child is one of quality learning: UNESCO Representative for South Asia
View(s):“We are happy to note that the re-opening of schools was made possible following a collaboration of the Education Ministry and the Health Ministry. All necessary precautions have been taken in terms of safeguarding every student and every teacher thereby ensuring safety in resuming their learning process by returning to schools,” said Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO Secretary General Dr Punchi Nilame Meegaswatte.
“It is vital we continue to open up safer and better schools, thereby reaching the most marginalised students. While things may never return to the previous state, we can ensure that the ‘new normal’ for every child, adolescent and youth, to be one of quality learning,” UNESCO Representative for South Asia Eric Falt said.
Across the region continuous efforts would be made to focus on reaching the most vulnerable children, who had most likely fallen behind further due to the pandemic. They faced an even greater risk of not returning to schools at all, and in the coming months it was likely that South Asian schools would close and re-open once more due to reoccurring COVID-19 outbreaks, Mr Falt said.
With education systems navigating at their best during the devastation, the flexibility of decision making at local levels would be of utmost importance. Therefore containment measures being applied locally before and during outbreaks, rather than complete national lockdowns, were more effective, these experts said.
In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic UNESCO had earlier launched the Global Education Coalition in March 2020, therefore ensuring that learning never stops even during a period of lockdown. In addition, UNESCO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Bank jointly issued a ‘Framework for Re-opening of Schools’ in April to ensure the safety of all students and teachers.
UNESCO and UNICEF had also continued working collaboratively with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), with the aim of promoting regional co-operation in education thereby progressing towards achieving ‘Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education for All.’
While pending confirmation from member states to the SAARC Secretariat, UNESCO and UNICEF planned on organising technical consultations focusing on aspects such as ‘Safe School Re-opening in the Region,’ ‘Continuity of Learning’ and ‘Building Back Better.’
While COVID-19 had disrupted learning for over 430 million children across the South Asian region, it had also created opportunities for a once-in-a-generation opportunity in strengthening the resilience of education systems across the world, Mr Falt said.
- Nilanthi Wickramasinghe