The United Nations (UN) cautions that Africa and the rest of the world could witness a “generational catastrophe” due to the closure of schools around the world amid the COVID-19 scare.
This was disclosed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a communique.
Reports suggest as at mid-July, at least 160 countries had closed their schools keeping more than 1 billion students at home while at least 40 million children have missed out on pre-school. Guterres said ensuring the safe return of students to classroom must be a “top priority”.
“Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” said Guterres as he launched a U.N. “Save our Future” campaign.
He further stated that, “Consultation with parents, carers, teachers and young people is fundamental.”
The U.N. push for the resumption of academic activities globally came as U.S President Donald Trump persuades schools to reopen amidst resistance from some teachers and parents while coronavirus continues to rear its ugly head in several parts of the country.
Statistics suggest coronavirus has infected at least 18.1 million people globally while there have been more than 689,000 known deaths worldwide.
Source: CGTN