Africa Educates Her Campaign - Angola. Do not miss this episode!

Covid-19: Africa educates her campaign is on going- day 14

School closures harm girls in many ways, often with long-term consequences.

Our today's guest is a 15 years old Maria. She will share with us how covid-19 has affected her academic life. 

Coronavirus has affected me in many ways. I don't go to school anymore, I don't interact with my teachers and my colleagues, and it will also be an annulled academic year, lamented Maria.

In the question about what you have been doing to continue learning during the pandemic, she replied that she watches  tele-classes on TV, reviews old school materials, consults the dictionary, etc.

She also said that, the government should install piped water in schools, distribute biosafety materials, masks, gloves, soap and provide strict control of social distance between students, so they can study safe when schools reopen.

Governments should work with communities, school officials and teachers to monitor whether girls are participating in remote educational programs. If these initiatives are not reaching girls or if their families or communities are not prioritizing the girls ’education, they will need to intervene.

Governments should additionally provide information and services on sexual and reproductive health to adolescents. This includes making sure they can access a broad range of contraceptives, which respects their dignity and privacy.

When schools reopen, these efforts must continue. School officials and teachers should make sure that girls are returning. From now, governments should be tracking the numbers of children affected by school closures and provide gender disaggregated data to ensure they can act if a significant number of children do not return to school. 

Governments should develop measures to identify and assist those who have not returned, for example by providing financial assistance programs.

Now is also a good time for countries that exclude pregnant girls and adolescent mothers from school to reform those policies and develop human rights-compliant policies.

Education is not freely available to everyone - and in many parts of the world girls are the first to be excluded from it. Girls are the first to drop out of school, and the first to be failed by the system, facing the perils of early marriage, early pregnancy, and abuse. Without the choice to write their own futures, their endless potential is wasted.

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