A billion students worldwide affected by covid-19 lockdowns, UN says

The United Nations chief has said the coronavirus pandemic has led to the largest disruption of education in history. School closures in more than 160 countries in mid-July have affected more than one billion students, it is claimed. In addition, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that at least 40 million children worldwide have missed out on education “in their critical pre-school year”. As a result, he warned that the world faces “a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities”. “We are at a defining moment for the world’s children and young people,” Mr Guterres said in a video message and a...