Unicef：Keeping the world’s children learning through COVID-19
date：2020-04-30 12:55author：adminsource：https://www.unicef.org/coronavviews：
With around 1.6 billion children unable to attend school in person, UNICEF is finding ways to keep them learning at home.
UNICEF/UNI320750// Frank Dejongh
20 April 2020
The numbers are unprecedented, the implications enormous. As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the globe, a majority of countries have announced the temporary closure of schools, impacting more than 91 per cent of students worldwide – around 1.6 billion children and young people.
Never before have so many children been out of school at the same time, disrupting learning and upending lives, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised. Here are some of the ways UNICEF is working with partners to keep schools safe and students learning, in classrooms or at home, online and offline – wherever they are.
Never before have so many children been out of school at the same time, disrupting learning and upending lives, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised. Here are some of the ways UNICEF is working with partners to keep schools safe and students learning, in classrooms or at home, online and offline – wherever they are.
Ukraine
UNICEF/UNI321764/Filippov
Zata, 7, studies at her home in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her favourite subject is art, and she enjoys drawing cats and pandas.
When educational facilities across Ukraine closed in March to help contain COVID-19, many families found themselves struggling to keep their children’s education on track.
Since the school closures, UNICEF has been supporting the Ministry of Education and Science with distance learning options for students to ensure continuity and help parents, caregivers and teachers access remote education resources and support during quarantine.
Ukraine is also one of the first countries since the COVID-19 pandemic to roll out its online curriculum through the Learning Passport, a global learning platform launched by UNICEF and Microsoft to help children and youth affected by COVID-19 continue their education at home.
Since the school closures, UNICEF has been supporting the Ministry of Education and Science with distance learning options for students to ensure continuity and help parents, caregivers and teachers access remote education resources and support during quarantine.
Ukraine is also one of the first countries since the COVID-19 pandemic to roll out its online curriculum through the Learning Passport, a global learning platform launched by UNICEF and Microsoft to help children and youth affected by COVID-19 continue their education at home.
Rwanda
CEF/UNICEF/UNI319836/Kanobana
Igihozo, 11, listens to a lesson on a radio after his school was closed in Rwanda.
More than 3 million students are out of school in Rwanda since the government recommended schools close to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. To keep children learning, the country has turned to one of its most accessible mediums: radio.
UNICEF identified more than 100 radio scripts from around the world focusing on basic literacy and numeracy that could be adapted to align with Rwanda’s school curriculum. It then worked with partners, including the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, to produce and air the classes around the country.
UNICEF identified more than 100 radio scripts from around the world focusing on basic literacy and numeracy that could be adapted to align with Rwanda’s school curriculum. It then worked with partners, including the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, to produce and air the classes around the country.
Timor-Leste
UNICEF/UNI320751/Soares
A girl holds up a phone displaying an online learning platform providing a range of audio-visual material to help students continue learning during
COVID-19-related school closures.
COVID-19-related school closures.
Timor-Leste is also rolling out its curriculum on the Learning Passport platform after schools in the country closed in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The content available to schoolchildren includes online books, videos and additional support for parents of children with learning disabilities.
Syria
UNICEF/UNI318725/Syria
Maram, 12, studies at her home in Ar-Raqqa, Syria, after schools in the country were suspended.
Even before COVID-19, millions of children in Syria were out of school or at risk of dropping out as the country entered its tenth year of conflict. The suspension of classes in mid-March as a precautionary measure has created further uncertainty for millions more children.
“I was shocked when I heard that [school] would be suspended,” says 12-year-old Maram from her home in Ar-Raqqa.
Maram is using the Self-Learning Programme books she received a few months ago to help keep her education on track. Designed to help children who have either dropped out of school or who are at risk of doing so, the programme helps children to continue learning core subjects such as Arabic and English, math, and science.
“I was shocked when I heard that [school] would be suspended,” says 12-year-old Maram from her home in Ar-Raqqa.
Maram is using the Self-Learning Programme books she received a few months ago to help keep her education on track. Designed to help children who have either dropped out of school or who are at risk of doing so, the programme helps children to continue learning core subjects such as Arabic and English, math, and science.
North Macedonia
UNICEF/UNI314054/Klincarov
Twins Maksim and Jan practice yoga for children as they follow a TV-classroom programme broadcast on national television in Skopje, North Macedonia.
When North Macedonia announced schools nationwide would be closing in early March, the country followed a simple principle to keep children learning: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Within days of the closures, UNICEF and the Government had shifted lessons from the country’s classrooms to its living rooms. One key initiative was the TV-Classroom, which involves volunteer teachers delivering classes and presenting a range of activities, including exercise routines, in the five languages used in the country’s schools.
Aleksandra, a mother in Skopje, says that TV learning has been helpful for parents, too, as they try to adapt to the current reality. “It’s a challenge to balance and entertain three kids at home,” she says. “Fortunately, the TV classroom can keep the twins busy enough so that I can focus a bit more on the baby.”
Aleksandra, a mother in Skopje, says that TV learning has been helpful for parents, too, as they try to adapt to the current reality. “It’s a challenge to balance and entertain three kids at home,” she says. “Fortunately, the TV classroom can keep the twins busy enough so that I can focus a bit more on the baby.”
Viet Nam
My Linh Do UNICEF Viet Nam
Tran, 10, and a Vietnamese sign language interpreter do a FaceTime chat.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unsettling for all children, regardless of their physical abilities. But for children like 10-year-old Tran, who has a hearing impairment, the lack of accessible information can feel particularly isolating.
As part of its efforts to help reach hearing-impaired children, UNICEF Viet Nam enlisted Tran’s help to sign a video on how to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and pledged to include sign language in more of its online assets. More broadly, UNICEF has also been supporting the Ministry of Education and Training in developing online and offline learning materials, including for physical exercise, to help improve children’s physical strength, health and mental wellbeing during the school closures.
As part of its efforts to help reach hearing-impaired children, UNICEF Viet Nam enlisted Tran’s help to sign a video on how to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and pledged to include sign language in more of its online assets. More broadly, UNICEF has also been supporting the Ministry of Education and Training in developing online and offline learning materials, including for physical exercise, to help improve children’s physical strength, health and mental wellbeing during the school closures.
Côte d'Ivoire
UNICEF/UNI317268/Frank Dejongh
A teacher conducts a lesson that is being videotaped for broadcast on national television.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, caregivers and educators have responded in stride, and have been instrumental in finding new ways to keep children learning. In Côte d'Ivoire, UNICEF has been working with the Ministry of Education on a ‘school at home’ initiative that includes taping lessons to be aired on national TV.
Latin America and the Caribbean
UNICEF/UNI322367/Schverdfinger
Mila, 11, studies at her home in Gamboa, Panama, after schools in the country were suspended to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
No region of the world has been spared from the COVID-19 pandemic. By late March, around 95 per cent of enrolled children were temporarily out of school due to COVID-19 across Latin America and the Caribbean – more than 150 million children across the region.
To help keep children learning, UNICEF launched the #LearningAtHome initiative, providing a fun new activity every day that parents can adapt and share with others, from treasure hunt puzzles to creative toy spiderwebs.
To help keep children learning, UNICEF launched the #LearningAtHome initiative, providing a fun new activity every day that parents can adapt and share with others, from treasure hunt puzzles to creative toy spiderwebs.
Go Zyon!
This page by Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.