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NAIROBI. – Pandemic-induced disruptions to schooling in Africa have hit particularly hard in the southern and eastern parts of the continent, a United Nations report says.
On average, schools in the regions had been fully closed for 22 weeks by February, and about half of the countries saw full school closures beyond the global average of 20 weeks, according to the report released last week. In Uganda, schools were closed for 92 weeks, among the longest in the world.
In total, school children in the regions have lost 150 billion hours of in-person learning due to the closures, the report by UNESCO said.
The pandemic has also increased inequality in access to education in many African countries, the report showed.
In Kenya, children in primary schools using online tutoring platforms lost an equivalent of three and a half months of learning, with larger losses for students in hardship areas and rural schools where internet access is not available, the report said. I
In South Africa, the learning losses were 27 percent higher for girls than for boys among Grade 4 students, it said.
Long school closures will also have long-term economic effects, and current students in sub-Saharan Africa may lose a combined US$500 billion in future earnings, said the report. – ChinaDaily.com
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