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Schoolchildren (in Beirut, archive picture)
Photo: Bilalal Jawich / dpa
Because their schools were closed in the wake of the corona pandemic, around 320 million children and young people worldwide have had to stay at home since December 1.
This was reported by the Unicef children's aid organization, citing data from Unesco.
This affects almost every fifth school child worldwide, according to the report.
Compared to November 1st, the number of boys and girls affected by school closings rose again by almost 90 million.
Unicef complained that the closings had devastated the children’s learning, mental and physical wellbeing, nutrition and safety.
Unicef head of education, Robert Jenkins, said it had been proven that schools were not the main cause of the pandemic - an argument that German education politicians also repeatedly cite.
“Still, we are seeing an alarming trend for governments to close schools as the first rather than the last resort.
In some cases this happens nationwide and not community by community. "
The benefits of keeping schools open far outweigh the costs of closing them, Jenkins said: "Nationwide school closings should be avoided at all costs." Steps need to be taken to protect schools from Covid-19.
more on the subject
Limited contacts, longer vacation: National Academy Leopoldina advocates a "hard lockdown" by Gerald Traufetter
With little evidence that schools are contributing to higher transmission rates, Unicef urges governments to give priority to reopening schools and to take all possible measures to make them as safe as possible.
The plans should also include concepts for distance learning, especially for marginalized groups.
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him / dpa
