By Kemo Cham
As Covid-19 ravages countries along with their education systems, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has announced a US$250 million funding for developing countries, including 39 in Africa.
The funding, according to the organization, will help these countries mitigate both the immediate and long-term disruptions to education being caused by the pandemic. It said the money will help sustain learning for up to 355 million children, with a focus on ensuring that girls and poor children, who will be hit the hardest by school closures, can continue their education.
Sierra Leone is one of the 39 countries in Africa earmarked to benefit from the funding.
Globally, according to GPE, at least 630 million children are already out of school in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean as a result of Covid-19.
The organization said this supports is to ensure that every child receives a quality basic education, prioritizing the poorest, the most vulnerable and those living in countries affected by fragility or conflict.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is creating an education emergency that could have devastating impacts on children in developing countries,” said Julia Gillard, GPE Board Chair.
She added: “Unless we act now to support education systems, millions of vulnerable children, especially the poorest girls, may not be able to resume learning when this crisis is over.”
GPE mobilizes financing for education and supports developing countries to build effective education systems founded on evidence-based planning and policies.
In a press release shared with Politico, the US-headquartered organization said of the 67 countries eligible for its funds, 63 have already closed schools nation-wide in response to the pandemic, cutting more than 350 million children off from learning, but also from other vital services provided through schools, including health care and nutritious meals.
Sierra Leone is one of these countries, having ordered the shutting down of school a week earlier than planned. With measures been put in place by the government in its drive to contain the spread of the virus, there are no plans to reopen schools anytime soon.
The list of eligible 39 African countries also include Sierra Leone’s neighbors, Liberia and Guinea, as well as Mano River Union neighbor Cote d’Ivoire. There are also The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.
All countries that want to make use of the opportunity have to do is to inform the GPE’s Secretariat of their intention to apply for it and provide a timeline for the submission of their application, the organization said. It adds that each country has a maximum country allocation amount, which is calculated based on the school-aged population in that country.
“GPE provides support that promotes country leadership; and all COVID-19 funding applications must be based on government response plans to ensure that they are driven by national priorities,” said Sven Baeten, Acting Country Support Team Manager, in a written response sent to Politico.
“Within those national priorities, GPE focuses its resources on securing learning, equity and inclusion for the most marginalized children and youth, and on achieving gender equality. In line with these principles, proposals for COVID-19 funding need to provide information on how the needs of the most vulnerable children, including girls, will be addressed,” Baeten added.
Through a separate GPE funding, many countries are already implementing educational programmes designed to cushion the effect of extended closure of schools due to Covid-19. This include a radio and TV learning programme targeting school children. Some $8.8 million, provided to 87 developing countries through UNICEF a week before this announcement, is a contribution to kick-start government response planning, GPE said.
GPE says long-term school closures threaten hard-won development gains and could expose the world’s poorest children to increased risks. It said evidence showed that girls who are excluded from school were more vulnerable to gender-based violence, early marriage and other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.
GPE cited as example the experience of the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, where school closures were linked to 11,000 schoolgirls becoming pregnant and being unable to return to school. Boys, it added, were at increased risk of being recruited into armed groups and teachers forced to find other sources of income, with the likelihood of not returning to the classrooms once the pandemic is over.
“We are stepping up to mitigate the impacts that school closures in developing countries will have on the most vulnerable children,” said Alice Albright, GPE’s Chief Executive Officer. “GPE is committed to ensuring that learning can continue, and that no child’s education is left behind.”
The US$250 million was made available by repurposing uncommitted funds, with an expectation that additional funding will be required to help developing countries keep their education systems going through the pandemic and assist children who are vulnerable as a result of school closures, the organization said, noting that the move was approved at an exceptional virtual meeting of its Board of Directors on Tuesday.
The funding will be made available immediately to the beneficiary countries, it added, noting that Ministries of Education and local education partners can use the funds to ensure learning can continue, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable, like by producing educational radio and television programs and distributing equipment such as radios and textbooks to the poorest households.
The funds, according to GPE, can also be used to support teachers, ensure children with special needs and disabilities are included; collect data to know that learning is happening; mitigate poverty and gender barriers to learning, which will be exacerbated by economic shock; and ensure that teachers and schools are equipped to re-open when it is safe to do so.
Serigne Mbaye Thiam, GPE Vice Board Chair, added in the statement: “GPE has acted swiftly in the face of an unprecedented challenge. These funds will ensure that developing countries, like Senegal, are able to act quickly to mitigate the detrimental impact COVID-19 will have on the most vulnerable children and maintain the resilience of education systems.”
Copyright (c) 2020 Politic Online
