COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the lives of young children, students, and youth. The disruption of societies and economies caused by the pandemic has led to the worst crisis in the education of the last century.
The staggering effects of school closures reach beyond learning. This generation of children could lose a combined total of US$21 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value or the equivalent of 17% of today’s global GDP – a sharp rise from the 2021 estimate of a US$17 trillion loss.
Three years after the arrival of COVID-19, educators and governments are still grappling with the pandemic’s aftermath. They are working to make up the crucial time lost during COVID-related closures, to position students for successful lives.
The future doesn’t have to be dark. There’s still time to recover learning losses and put a generation of students on track to thrive in the jobs of the future.
If you’re aged 16 to 19 and currently enrolled in high school, we’d like to hear about your experience with post-COVID education and learn your ideas for the way forward. In partnership with the free FT Schools programme, offering access to FT.com for students aged 16-19 years old, their teachers, and schools around the world.
Please tell them:
How is your country’s education system recovering from learning losses of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what more can it do to prepare young people for the jobs of the future?