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Through its analysis of pledges, recommendations and country case studies made in low- and middle-income countries with the highest number of refugees and displaced people, the new report by Save the Children, Progress Under Threat, is a comprehensive overview of the state of education in 2020. Including refugees in national systems allows more systematic stability and protection, which more essential than ever during a pandemic. Save the Children urged the world to act now to protect education and encouraged pledgers to make new financial pledges, implement pledges already made and track progress.
In 2019, hundreds of pledges were made towards education at the first Global Refugee Forum. The analysis made by Save the Children shows the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of education pledges, with only 9 per cent being fulfilled. Other pledges have made progress, but due to schools closing and the loss of family income, efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 have faced challenges. Some pledges have been adapted or expanded in response to the pandemic, but difficulties to access remote learning remain, excluding refugees and increasing already existing vulnerabilities.
Save the Children also raised the alarm on the long-lasting effects COVID-19 is having on education. Almost half of all school-aged refugees were already out of school before the pandemic, and in this unprecedented year, many children had their education disrupted. Although schools are now slowly reopening, 200 million children have yet to return to school. The report highlighted that inequalities have increased, with most vulnerable and marginalized people being disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Read the full report here.
