世界の子ども４．６３億人が遠隔授業受けられず　ユニセフ報告

【国連ＡＦＰ＝時事】新型コロナウイルスの流行により世界各地で学校が閉鎖された際、その影響を受けた全世界の子どもの少なくとも3人に1人、約4億6300万人が遠隔授業を受けることができなかった。国連児童基金（ユニセフ）が26日に公表した調査報告書で明らかになった。（写真はアンデス山脈のペルー・コナビリの丘の上で、遠隔授業を受けるため電波を探す少年）
　この報告書は、約１００か国から集めた一般市民のインターネットやテレビ、ラジオの利用状況を調べたデータに基づいている。
　これによると、全世界で推定４億６３００万人の子どもが、遠隔授業を受けるために必要な機材を持っていなかったり、そうした通信環境になかったりするという。
　ユニセフは、全世界で１５億人の子どもがロックダウン（都市封鎖）や学校閉鎖の影響を受けていると推定する。
　報告書はまた、子どもの遠隔授業の利用状況に深刻な地理的格差があることを明確に示した。例えば、欧州で遠隔授業を受けられない子どもの数は、アフリカや一部のアジアでの数に比べるとはるかに少ない。
　ユニセフのヘンリエッタ・フォア事務局長は、「これほど多くの子どもの教育が数か月間も完全に中断されてしまったことは、世界的な教育危機だ」と述べ、それは「今後数十年にわたって経済と社会に影響を及ぼす恐れがある」と警鐘を鳴らした。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/08/28-13:41）

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and widespread school closures, at least one-third of students affected around the world lack access to virtual education, according to a UN study released Wednesday.
In all, an estimated 463 million children lack the equipment or electronic access to pursue distance learning, said the report from UNICEF.
The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency, Henrietta Fore, executive director of the UN Children's Fund, said in a statement.
The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come, she said.
The UN estimates that 1.5 billion children worldwide have been affected by lockdowns or school closings occasioned by the pandemic.
The report underlined gaping geographical differences in children's access to distance education, with far fewer affected in Europe, for example, than in Africa or parts of Asia.
The UN report is based on data gathered from roughly 100 countries, measuring public access to the internet, to television and to radio.
Even children with adequate access may face other obstacles to distance education -- whether the lack of a good workspace at home, pressure to do other work for the family, or a lack of technical support when computer problems arise, the UNICEF report said.
Among students around the world unable to access virtual education, 67 million are in eastern and southern Africa, 54 million in western and central Africa, 80 million in the Pacific and East Asia, 37 million in the Middle East and North Africa, 147 million in South Asia, and 13 million in Latin America and the Caribbean.
No figures were given for the US or Canada.
With the new school year soon getting underway in many countries -- including in-person classes in many places -- UNICEF urged governments to prioritize the safe reopening of schools when they begin easing lockdown restrictions.
Where reopening is impossible, governments should arrange for compensatory learning for lost instructional time, the report said.