A children’s charity has warned that up to 9.7 million children are at risk of dropping out of school as child poverty rises – By Gerald Gekara.
An Analysis by Save The Children shows COVID-19 may affect both the funding and the delivery of education in some of the countries most at risk of falling behind.
It could reverse progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 – good quality education for every last child.
“We know from previous crises that the longer children are out of school, the greater the risk that they do not return to school. We expect education budgets to be under pressure as governments shift spending towards the health and economic response to the pandemic.”
Almost 10 million children are at risk of dropping out of school altogether and Save The Children has identified the 12 countries at ‘extreme risk’ of falling behind in their progress towards SDG4.
In Kenya, resumption of the school calendar was pushed to January 2021, further plunging parents and guardians into stress having to fend for extra mouths during the pandemic.
Professor George Magoha further directed the administration of National Examinations to set a new date for the crucial test paper.
However, despite the extended holiday, the government is tasked with protecting children from offenders, rapists, and parents who abuse children’s rights. This is after the state recorded colossus figures of teenage pregnancies reported during the pandemic.
