The Global Education Monitoring Report, 2020 was released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020
Key-Points
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in education systems across the world.
About 40% of low- and lower-middle-income countries have not supported learners at risk of exclusion during this crisis, such as the poor, linguistic minorities and learners with disabilities.
As substitutes for classroom instruction, while many poorer countries opted for radio and television lessons, 55% of low-income, 73% of lower-middle-income and 93% of upper-middle-income countries adopted for online learning platforms for primary and secondary education.
School closures also interrupted support mechanisms from which many disadvantaged learners benefit. For poor students who depend on school for free meals or even free sanitary napkins, closures have been a major blow. Higher drop-out rates are also a concern.
In order to combat the situation, 17% of low and middle-income countries are planning to recruit more teachers, 22% to increase class time and 68% to introduce remedial classes when schools reopen.
Teachers who are intimidated by technology now have to take the bull by its horns. For many who are proficient at planning and teaching in the traditional classroom, planning for an online setting requires some re-learning.
Online classrooms have brought up issues of classroom management and it is needed to learn methods of managing remote classes and students online. Schools also have to give serious thought to planning and conducting online assessments and evaluations.
School readiness for online teaching is critical and schools are at varying levels in this journey. While parents are worried about having the right hardware and set-up at home, school management and teachers are sorting out more significant and vital issues.
About UNESCO
UNESCO has 193 member states and 11 associate members.
It is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at contributing “to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
It is the successor of the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
UNESCO is a member of the United Nations Development Group, a coalition of UN agencies and organisations aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.
