Covid-19

This report prepared by the technical team of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education (IESALC), in the first instance, highlights the immediate impacts of the pandemic on the university higher education sector, both for the different actors and for the institutions and the system as a whole. Some impacts, which are not immediately visible, are unfortunately very significant and will surface in the medium and long term. Secondly, it reviews what actions governments and HEIs have taken to guarantee the right to higher education during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked unprecedented havoc on children, families and communities around the globe, disrupting vital services and putting millions of lives at risk. Since March, attempts to avert the global health crisis have seen nationwide school closures in 194 countries.

In this report, the Special Rapporteur commends the efforts made by Governments, who were under harsh pressure, to preserve human lives while facing scientific uncertainties. 

Joint statement made by GI-ESCR and the Right to Education Initiative at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in July 2020 welcoming the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the right to education.

A human rights analysis of schools reopening in England on 1 June 2020 after their closure due to the Covid-19. An Advisory Note to Independent SAGE.