Next Generation pays for Africa’s school closures with its future
Africa (MNN) — Students throughout Africa pay a steep price for pandemic-related school closures.
“Vulnerable children have become more vulnerable because they’re more prone to abuse,”
TeachBeyond’s Tammy Peters says. Families desperately need money, so girls are sold off as child brides while young boys enter the workforce.
Last year, 50-percent of African countries restricted school access within three days of the first COVID-19 cases. On average, schools were closed for more than 100 days throughout the continent.
“Schools have closed down, and they’ve been closed for a long, long time. Some have tried to reopen, and then closed down again,” Peters says.