ni Merlina Hernando-Malipot
KUNG ang mga paaralan sa mundo ay isang malaking silid-aralan, 168 milyong bata ang mamamarkahan ng “absent” sa kanilang class attendance dahil sa coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Iprinisinta ng United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), nitong Miyerkules ang “Pandemic Classroom” sa United Nations Headquarters sa New York upang manawagan ng atensiyon sa pangangailangan ng mga pamahalaan na iprayoridad ang pagbubukas ng paaralan.
Upang makuha ang atensiyon sa education emergency at makapagbigay ng kaalaman hinggil sa pangangailangan na mapanatiling bukas ang mga paaralan—o unahin ito sa planong muling pagbubukas—ipinakilala ng UNICEF ang “Pandemic Classroom.”
Isa itong modelo ng silid-aralan na binubuo ng 168 empty desks – na bawat isa ay kumakatawan sa milyong bata na naninirahan sa mga bansa kung saan halos isinara ang mga paaralan.
Ayon sa UNICEF, isa itong “solemn reminder” ng mga silid-aralan sa bawat panig ng mundo na nananatiling bakante.
“This classroom represents the millions of centers of learning that have sat empty—many for almost the entire year,” pahayag ni UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“Behind each empty chair hangs an empty backpack—a placeholder for a child’s deferred potential.”
Binanggit ng UNICEF na ang mga paaralan para sa 168 milyong bata sa buong mundo ay tuluyang isinara ng halos isang buong taon dahil sa pagpapatupad ng COVID-19 lockdowns.
Dagdag pa rito, “around 214 million children globally – o isa sa bawat pitong bata –“have missed more than three-quarters of their in-person learning.”
“We do not want shuttered doors and closed buildings to obscure the fact that our children’s futures are being put on indefinite pause,” ani Fore.
“This installation is a message to governments: we must prioritize reopening schools, and we must prioritize reopening them better than they were before,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa isang pahayag, binigyang-diin din ng UNICEF Philippines, ang “overwhelming evidence” ng epekto sa mga bata ng pagsasara ng paaralan.
“School closures have devastating consequences for children’s learning and wellbeing,” giit ng UNICEF.
“The most vulnerable children and those unable to access remote learning are at an increased risk of never returning to the classroom, and even being forced into child marriage or child labor,” saad pa nito.
Bilang pagbanggit sa bagong datos ng UNICEF, sinabi nitong “more than 888 million children worldwide continue to face disruptions to their education due to full and partial school closures.”
“The majority of schoolchildren worldwide rely on their schools as a place where they can interact with their peers, seek support, access health and immunization services and a nutritious meal,” anito.
“The longer schools remain closed, the longer children are cut off from these critical elements of childhood.”
Sa nalalapit na isang taon marka ng COVID-19 pandemic, ipinaalala ng UNICEF ang mapaminsalang education emergency na nilikha ng lockdown sa buong mundo.
“With every day that goes by, children unable to access in-person schooling fall further and further behind, with the most marginalized paying the heaviest price,” pagtatapos ni Fore.
