EDITORIAL: A report based on research conducted by UNICEF, the United Nation's children's agency, has made some startling revelations. After examining 100 countries, and assessing children's ability to access remote or distance learning through television and radio broadcasts or online lessons, it found that one in three children around the world has had no access to education whatsoever since schools shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. That means that of the nearly 1.5 billion children who were affected by school closures, at least 463 million have simply had to stop studying for no fault of their own. Since the pandemic is not likely to end anytime soon, and a lot of countries are witnessing what is being increasingly called a second wave of the virus, there's no telling really when it would be really safe to open all schools across the world. So the effects of some hundred million students suddenly deprived of education could well echo for a whole generation as these children run the risk of growing up less equipped than others to take any advantage of the job market and many are unfortunately unnecessarily pushed into poverty, which has its own social spillover effects.

All this has pushed the UN to warn of a global education emergency. It turns out the children have been worst affected in Africa, with nearly 50 percent of them unable to access remote education, compared to 38 percent in South Asia and 34 percent in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This unique and completely unexpected situation has now led to other worries. Child rights organisations are already warning about the devastating impact of these closures on some children, particularly girls in Africa, who have suddenly become more vulnerable to sexual violence and early marriages. That is why they are among other groups urging governments to reopen schools, after taking the greatest care to minimise risk of course, just like businesses are reopening everywhere. The World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa Matshidisho Moeti also warned of "a lost generation" if we are "blind sighted by our own efforts to contain Covid-19." As bad as this situation looks, the real numbers are almost certainly far worse, and the report admitted as much. One reason is that even having access to internet and availability of classes does not always mean that students are able to take advantage of them for a whole host of reasons, including overcrowded and noisy living conditions, the necessity to do household work, etc.

Pakistan also faces a tricky situation insofar as education is concerned. The final decision to reopen schools will be taken today and if everything seems fine children will have to return to their classrooms on September 15. But if the green light is not given, everybody will have to depend on online classes for their children to keep advancing. And while Pakistan has been luckier than most countries as far as handling the spread of the virus is concerned, it is going to struggle if schools will need to be kept shut for a while longer. For it does not have the kind of internet penetration needed to reach all children yet, especially in far flung areas or even some main cities in Balochistan. And the kind of poverty numbers we have - which is actually what pushed the federal government towards choosing smart lockdowns in the first place - just doesn't allow any risk that might substantially add to them. The government must therefore give this matter the attention it deserves. At stake is not just one or two academic years, but people's whole lives.

This deadly virus has impacted the world in many more ways than just endangering people's lives. Not only have far too many people died, an unbelievable number has lost jobs, homes and what not. But while a lot of things will eventually return to normal and some, though by no means all, of the jobs will also come back, children missing out on their education will have long-lasting effects. Now that we have seen our way through the worst of the pandemic, and hopefully the virus will not give our medical facilities too many problems again, the government must make sure it does whatever is necessary to widen the net of online learning as much as possible. A lost generation is the last thing we can afford in Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020