In Europe and North America, students were less likely to attend school than in other parts of the world

Europe and North America perform better than the rest of the world. UNESCO noted this at the end of 2020: on these two continents, students actually missed an average of ten weeks of schooling (compared to the world average of fourteen). Moreover, if no European country has completely closed its schools since the outbreak, this is not the case in other regions.

In some places, students have never returned to class since March. This is the case in Asia (Bangladesh, Iraq, Philippines, Saudi Arabia), Latin America (Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela), Africa (Sudan). In other countries, they have not fully recovered.

Differences across Europe

According to the latest UNESCO data (dated January 15), there are currently more than 310 million students affected by closures (including college students), nearly 17.8% of the total learners. Dangerous situation. “Closing schools weighs more than it lags behind,” said Audrey Azole, the organization’s managing director. Size and speed are unprecedented, and in the long run, the right to education can be threatened. “

At the level of the 43 states of the European continent *, UNESCO also mentions differences. In January, almost half of them decided to keep their schools open … although some sometimes took very restrictive measures to other departments (for example, the total closure of bars and restaurants). Thirteen countries have partially reopened. Some, by prioritizing positions (usually younger, other worlds support exam classes). Others, like Germany, leave the choice to local authorities. A few, by combining classes in class and home classes.

* The 44th state Vatican is not included in the table due to lack of data.