New Delhi: According to the new data released by UNICEF, 1.5 million schools were shut during 2020 due to the pandemic and lockdowns. This has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in India.

“Online education is not an option for all as only one in four children has access to digital devices and Internet connectivity. Pre-Covid, only a quarter of households (24 per cent) in India had access to the Internet and there is a large rural-urban and gender divide,” said the statement of UNICEF while raising concerns about higher dropout rate in schools when classes recommence.

New data of UNICEF found that more than 888 million children worldwide are still facing disruptions to their education due to schools being fully or partially shut. The school closure report states that 14 countries worldwide have remained mostly closed since March 2020 to February 2021. Latin America and Caribbean account for two-third of those countries, this is affecting nearly 98 million children.

UNICEF has raised the alarm on effect of schools remaining shut on children. They were emphasising more on the children belonging to the most vulnerable and poorer sections of the society. UNICEF has said that even before the pandemic began, over 6 million girls and boys were already not attending school in the country.