After COVID, 11 Million Girls Won’t Be Returning To School: UNESCO

Image credit: UNICEF/UNI341941/Dejongh

Kinshasa, DR Congo: On a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) head Audrey Azoulay said that even after COVID restrictions are lifted around the world, eleven million girls will face the prospect of being unable to return to schools, NDTV reported.

Azoulay said, “We worry that in many countries the closure of schools has unfortunately led to losses,” during a visit to a high school in the capital Kinshasa, three days after the country’s school year commenced. “We estimate that 11 million girls will be unable to go back to school around the world,” she added.

The former French culture minister then announced, “we have launched an awareness campaign on the need for girls to go back to school.”

Azoulay also noted that as education for girls “unfortunately remains very unequal”, UNESCO places their access to schooling at a high priority.