3.

4 EDUCATION

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital learning tools and
highlighted the need to bridge the digital divide, ensuring equal access to quality
education for all. There was a significant impact on education, with schools and
universities forced to close or switch to online learning.
The pandemic also exacerbated existing educational system inequalities, with
students from low-income households and marginalized communities
disproportionately affected by school closures and the shift to online learning.

Before the pandemic hit, more than 260 million children at this time were out of
school1. Of those in school, six out of 10 were not expected to achieve a minimum
level of education by the time they finished primary school. Our existing education
systems were failing millions of children every year with no palpable sign of prompt
recovery. By 31 March, 20 days after the WHO2 declared the COVID-19 outbreak a
pandemic, 96% of the 191 countries for which data was available had closed their
school systems either fully or partially.

One of the most remarkable effects was the mass closure of physical schools, which
educators, parents, and children felt globally. At the start of the lockdowns, 1.6
billion children had their schooling disrupted. Worse still, about one-third of these
children needed access to remote learning tools like online classes. After all, only
around 60% of the globe's population is online.

The World Economic Forum, among others, has looked into the development of our
education system and concluded: “Our current education system, built on the
Industrial Revolution model, focuses on IQ, particularly memorization and
standardization – skills that will be quickly and efficiently supplanted by artificial and
augmented intelligence (AI), where IQ alone is insufficient. A good blend of IQ

1
https://www.unesco.org/en/covid-19/education-response
2
The World Health Organization
(intelligence) + EQ (emotional intelligence) + RQ (resilience) is critical to unleashing
a student's potential.”3

Education is not solely the responsibility of teachers or parents; it impacts everyone,

and we must expand the conversation beyond the education field. While there is no
easy solution to the system's problems, it is evident that there is an apparent
demand and desire for change. Global change and development depend on giving
every child every opportunity to learn, grow, develop, and gain skills, and doing so
urgently.

We must learn to work together and compromise to develop a system that makes all
students successful lifelong learners.

3
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/our-education-system-is-losing-relevance-heres-how-to-up
date-it/