While it commended the decision of the Philippine government, through the Department of Education (DepEd), to open schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF on Friday (Oct. 2) underscored the importance of inclusive education for all learners.

As classes resume on Oct. 5, UNICEF emphasized the important role that education plays in shaping children’s futures, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The UN agency for children’s rights lauds the Philippine Government’s decision to start classes with blended approaches to suit the specific needs of Filipino schoolchildren,” it said.

UNICEF, together with other partners, supported the DepEd in the development of the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan, as well as capacity building for enhancing the online learning platform, DepEd Commons.

“Rural multigrade schools benefited from technological packages while young learners received home-based story books,” UNICEF said.

“Learning boxes and an online platform were provided for students in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to fulfil their right to have access to free and complete basic education,” UNICEF said.

Technical support, it added, is ongoing for various webinars on parent engagement, child rights advocacies, psychosocial support, and learning opportunities for children with disabilities.

UNICEF said it remains committed to working with the DepEd and other partners to uphold every child’s right to education amid the pandemic.

Its upcoming response initiatives include support for the DepEd’s intersectoral collaborations to promote health and social protection of children, which is a community-based communication campaign to increase ALS enrollment, and preparation of a Basic Education Sector Plan that will specify longer term strategies for quality inclusive education.

Meanwhile, UNICEF reiterated that COVID-19 is “not just a health crisis, but also a learning crisis” because the sheer scale at which school children have gone unreached constitutes an “education emergency” on a global scale.

“The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come,” the agency added.

Likewise, UNICEF noted how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed high risks for disadvantaged children already lagging behind on learning. “Equity should be placed at the core of education interventions to provide the same learning opportunity to children who are most vulnerable and are from the most marginalized communities,” the agency said. “Inability to address these fuels inequality and reverses progress made in recent decades,” it added.

UNICEF noted that for the most marginalized and vulnerable, “missing out on school may lead to child labor, teenage pregnancy, and other situations that can keep them trapped in the cycle of poverty.”

“Children with disabilities and children from indigenous groups, whose risk to be left behind has been magnified in this context, should also be prioritized to prevent negative outcomes that can last a lifetime,” UNICEF said.

“Postponing learning, despite the availability of alternative means, makes it less likely that they will ever return to school.”