New York, August 4 – The unrelenting deadly impacts of the pandemic has closed schools in more than 160 countries, affecting over 1 billion students and has led to the “largest disruption of education ever,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a new policy brief as governments around the world have been struggling to set the schedule for reopening schools.

“We are at a defining moment for the world’s children and young people,” Guterres said. “We already faced a learning crisis before the pandemic. More than 250 million school-age children were out of school and only a quarter of secondary school children in developing countries were leaving school with basic skills.”

“Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” he said.

The UN chief called for (1) reopening schools “once local transmissions of the virus known as Covid-19 is under control”; (2) prioritizing education in financing decisions; (3) targeting the hardest to reach and (4) the future of education is here.

“It will be essential to balance health risks against risks to children’s education and protection, and to factor in the impact on women’s labour force participation,” he said. “Consultation with parents, careers, teachers and young people is fundamental.”

Guterres said the policy brief on Education during Covid-19 and Beyond was launched together with a new campaign with education partners and United Nations agencies called ‘Save our Future’.