At UN, leaders confront COVID’s impact on global education

By BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS and JOCELYN GECKER
AP Education Writers

With COVID-related school disruptions setting back children around the world, activists implored world leaders Monday to prioritize school systems and restore educational budgets slashed when the pandemic hit. The summit on transforming education called on the world’s nations to ensure that children everywhere from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States don’t fall too far behind. The percentage of 10-year-old children in poor and middle-income countries who cannot read a simple story increased to an estimated 70% –- up 13 percentage points — since before the pandemic shuttered classrooms. That’s according to a report from the World Bank, UNESCO and UNICEF.