UNESCO launches COVID-19 Global Education Coalition
Today, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, over millions of children and youth are forced to be educated at home. The temporary closure of schools and universities is a significant problem for the education sector and, therefore, countries are striving to find optimal solutions for distance learning.
In response to the closure of schools, which is effective in 102 countries, UNESCO set up the COVID-19 task force to provide advisory and technical assistance to countries organizing out-of-school education.
The organization also launched the COVID-19 Global Education Coalition to help countries around the world deploy distance learning systems, minimize educational disruptions, and maintain contacts with students. The Coalition unites a wide variety of partners and representatives of the private sector, including the largest transnational company Microsoft and the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA).
- The current situation poses challenges for countries to ensure uninterrupted education for children and youth. By building a coalition, we are strengthening our global response, which will make educational systems more sustainable and innovative, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said.
In addition, UNESCO holds regular virtual meetings with ministers of education from around the world, organizes regular webinars to share experiences and information on the approaches used in training.
- In the global pandemic conditions we all recognize the value of international cooperation and the need to come together to share best practices and lessons learned. Worldwide, in Belgium, Finland, Seychelles, countries are developing solutions to ensure continued learning. We all need to learn from each other to build an even stronger education system, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini said.
Thus, the National Digital Educational Platform “My Class at Home” has already been introduced in France, which is now used throughout the country.
Aina BERDIYEVA
