OCR Output

REITERATING THE OBVIOUS - EDUCATION IS A HUMAN SECURITY ISSUE

INTRODUCTION

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, most governments worldwide temporarily
closed educational institutions to control the virus’s spread. While many western
nations reacted and swiftly introduced measures to support learners, such as online
learning, initiatives, and technology, many developing countries face challenges.
Lack of remote learning policies and other factors continue to leave many children
and others out and behind in accessing educational services.

The pandemic highlighted the gaps in many education systems and governance,
revealing many governments’ incompetence to provide and sustain educational
systems within their jurisdiction. This inability remains a stark reality and reveals
the lack of education for so many, especially girls. Before the pandemic, 130 million
girls were out of school.” “At the height of the pandemic, 1.5 billion students were
affected worldwide, and over 767 million of these students were girls” in 200
countries.*

In sub-Saharan Africa, before the pandemic, efforts to improve the education
system were visible, and State parties were enacting their responsibilities required
in their legislations and various African Union legal instruments. This paper
will discuss four documents that strategically position women’s education as
indispensable in tackling the many challenges faced in Africa.

The efforts to improve the quality and access to education for girls became more
derailed with the pandemic. As the pandemic continues, the question arises about
the damage caused and harmful consequences of constantly regulated closures
due to the pandemic and the general entrenched lack of access to girls’ education
in sub-Saharan Africa?

This article restates the obvious by emphasizing that it is imperative to
examine education’s promotion and provision through a human security lens.
Thus, the article begins by exploring the challenges confronted before and during
the pandemic, then examines the effects of non-schooling on girls, followed by
discussing African documents to emphasize education as a human security issue.

2 UNESCO, Keeping Girls in the Picture-Youth Advocacy Toolkit, UNESCO, 2020, 4, https://
apa.sdg4education2030.org/sites/apa.sdg4education2030.org/files/2020-09/374113eng%20
%281%29-compressed.pdf.

3 UNESCO, COVID-19: UNESCO and Partners in Education Launch Global Campaign to
Keep Girls in the Picture, UNESCO News (28 September 2020), https://en.unesco.org/news/
covid-19-unesco-and-partners-education-launch-global-campaign-keep-girls-picture.

+ 301 ¢