📋 Tender Overview
Education in Latin America and the Caribbean faces not only a quality crisis and lag after the pandemic but also lacks proper connectivityFor Gnesis going to fifth grade is much more than going to school. Its the return to face-to-face classes after the pandemic. Her virtuality was a challenge that for her meant missing classes due to the little or no connectivity she had at home.During the closure of schools many boys and girls from Latin America and the Caribbean like Gnesis faced a situation that they could not solve. Learning in a pandemic meant having a good internet connection in a region where 1 in 4 homes does not have that service.Learn the story of GenesisA World Bank study reveals that since the beginning of the pandemic students have partially or completely lost an average of two thirds of the days of face-to-face classes. This is equivalent to an estimated loss of 1.5 years of learning and affects the youngest and most vulnerable the hardest.These impacts demand urgent coordinated and scaled actions to promote the present and future education of children and youth in the region stipulated in the regional commitment launched by the World Bank UNESCO UNICEF and the Inter-American Dialogue together with the governments of Chile Honduras Argentina and Ecuador.The role of connectivity in educationThe recovery of education will not take place if the basic conditions for learning are not available to all students equally. That is one of the great challenges facing the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to ensure that the tools to support enrich and diversify learning are available to those in remote areas with limited access.Despite progress in expanding access to educational technology in recent years connectivity especially in vulnerable urban and rural areas remains an obstacle. 32 of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean that is 244 million people of which 46 million live in rural areas do not have Internet access. The statistics are even worse for school connectivity.Connect key actors to provide connectivityThe significant connectivity of schools teachers and students who are in remote areas is not only a priority issue but it can be the meeting point between different actors in society such as the private sector the public sector society civil society the media multilateral organizations and society in general.For example the event Educational connectivity in complex areas - A call to solve connectivity gaps in Latin America had the participation of leaders in all key areas from different countries in the region.Even before the crisis the region was facing an educational crisis with very high levels of learning poverty and persistent inequities. Educational recovery with equity is going to be very difficult if the level of connectivity which although higher than in some other regions was below average does not increase significantlyEmanuela Di GropelloPractice Manager for Education in Latin America and CaribbeanThis meeting demonstrates the importance of taking determined actions with a long-term view otherwise the risk of hindering the recovery process and perpetuating a problem that we should have resolved long ago is too high. Connectivity does not imply only access to the Internet and digital tools. Connectivity ensures access to free knowledge and large-scale education and training opportunities.
