It’s 2nd longest in the world

The first day of school is a landmark moment for the youngest students and their parents. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is being delayed for around 40 lakh children of Bangladesh for the last one-and-a-half years, Unicef said yesterday.

This extends to an estimated 140 million children across the world. For an estimated eight million of them, it has meant they couldn't get their initiation into education, as they live in places where schools have remained closed throughout the pandemic, Unicef said in a new analysis released as summer break comes to end in many parts of the world.

According to the analysis, Bangladesh's school closure -- started since March 17 last year -- is the second-longest in the world.

"The first day of school is a landmark moment in a child's life – setting them off on a life-changing path of personal learning and growth. Most of us can remember countless minor details -- what clothes we wore, our teacher's name, who we sat next to. But for millions of children, that important day has been indefinitely postponed," said Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

Unicef Representative in Bangladesh Tomoo Hozumi said, "Lack of in-person teaching and learning activities have an extremely serious impact not only on children's education, but also on their health, protection, and psychosocial well-being."

"Marginalised children are suffering the heaviest losses. It is crucial that we prioritise a safe reopening of schools and invest in remediation of learning losses for those most affected," he added, illustrating how the longer children remain out of school, the less likely they are to return, as they face increased risks of violence, child labour, and child marriage.

In Bangladesh, prolonged closure of educational institutions throughout the pandemic has affected over 40 million students from the pre-primary to the higher education level, Unicef said.