Education is a human right, and everyone should have a way to access it. Because of the recent pandemic, many people have lost this privilege. The virtual school became the norm during the pandemic. However, many did not have access to devices, other schools did not have the technology or not even Internet access. Education prepares us for the real world, and everyone should have what we, a privileged few, have and take for granted. If we are to be better people, first we need education.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic made schools cancel and prevented people from learning. Students lost many months that could have been used on learning.
Quote from CNBC:
“Nearly all — more than 97% — of educators reported seeing some learning loss in their students over the past year when compared with children in previous years, and a majority, or 57%, estimated their students are behind by more than three months in their social-emotional progress.’’
This shows that the pandemic affected students in the loss of education and social-emotional progress. This also shows that the pandemic had a much bigger impact on students than we all thought, basically causing the world to stop. This was something bad, but it is now slowly being fixed due to schools re-opening with protocols for Covid-19.
Now, some students might have lost their education during the pandemic, but what about the people who don’t even have education in the first place. According to Our World in Data, in 2019, 58.4 million children did not have access to education. Most of these children are supposed to be in primary school. This part of school is essential for learning basic things about life and society. Not having this is very detrimental for primary school-aged children. These children don’t have an education either because of war or poverty in their countries. These children are so poor that they don’t have time for school and work to sustain their families. We should help these people prioritize their learning by helping them with their economic situations.
We have the privilege of education and go to school every day. Out of everyone, we should be the ones who understand what it is like to not have an education. It has been a significant part of our lives and has helped us in many ways. In conclusion, education is vital in this society, and everyone should have a chance at having it. Many people don’t have this privilege, and we should help them in any way we can.
By Roberto, 14, from Colegio Menor Samborondón