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The pandemic has wrought significant consequences on the educational systems; however, the peripheries’ implications will worsen.
The sudden and intense spread of COVID-19 has not affected all countries in the same way, nor has it affected all social strata equally. In regions such as Latin America, inequality, already a structural problem, has been amplified in the economic, health, and educational sectors.
More than half a year has passed since international social-distancing measures began to be implemented, including the cessation of face-to-face courses in most countries. While some university campuses and schools have already started to open their doors, most Latin American schools remain closed. The governments have implemented learning programs through the Internet, television, and radio, hoping to continue with its curricula.
“Before COVID-19, education was already in crisis. We are now facing an even deeper educational crisis that can create more divisions still,” said Robert Jenkins, Head of Education for UNICEF. Inequality in internet access and electronic devices is particularly evident when considering the peripheries of cities or rural communities where access to services is even more difficult. Despite this, 73% of the 127 countries in the UNICEF report have chosen to use online platforms to provide educational services. Even though in 71 of them, less than half of the population has internet access. Data from CEPAL have confirmed that only 8 of the 33 countries in their study include measures to implement distance learning activities by providing technological devices.
However, the intersections of poverty, gender, ethnicity, age, and disability further exacerbate these inequalities. There is scarce and even non-existent educational content taught in minority languages or sign language available to all, or even subtitles. The problem goes beyond online platforms. According to UNESCO, three-quarters of Latin American and Caribbean countries do not have inclusive educational laws for their students. Even worse, nearly 12 million children and young people do not receive school education due to poverty factors.
“Before COVID-19, education was already in crisis. We are now facing an even deeper educational crisis that can create more divisions.”
According to António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, the pandemic has affected more than 1.5 billion students worldwide, exacerbating the inequalities in the education sector. The epidemic also affects areas such as nutrition and child marriage and impacts gender equality. Domestic violence has been on the rise, and with the closure of schools, access to food and social protection services for minors was terminated.
“Schools have the primary function of seeking equal opportunities, but in this case, the State assumed that it is unable to support children in the most disadvantaged sectors, leading to an increase in inequalities,” said Tharcisio Leone of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) to DW Academy. He referred to Bolivia’s case, where the school year was completed without ensuring access to virtual education for all. “We’re forcing the disadvantaged to remain with job options that do not have any insurance or any opportunity other than an exploitation scenario,” warned Diana Hernandez, education researcher.
“The peripheries are areas of high marginality, where it is difficult to quarantine.”
One clear example can be observed at the Official General Francisco Villa High School, number 128, located in Ecatepec, State of Mexico. In this periphery, where 90% of its two million inhabitants are poor, not even 35% of its students can connect properly to the Internet to continue their education. Many have to work to help the family economy, and others do not even think about returning to school.
The peripheries are areas of high marginality, where it is difficult to quarantine. An example of this is the favelas (slums) in Brazil, where social isolation cannot be considered because of the housing conditions. Also, the availability of water is not a reality for many of its inhabitants. The precariousness of health and sanitation services are the central concerns of the Rio de Janeiro favelas.
Evidence does not lie. If the pandemic’s impact is no more than socioeconomic in the short term, its consequences will be much greater in the long-term. The more profound effect will be on the distribution of health, education, employment, and well-being services in general, causing structural inequalities in those areas to increase, far from diminishing. The end of the health pandemic will leave the legacy of a systemic crisis of human development, the impact of which will vary greatly depending on the government actions of countries and those implemented by international agencies and other actors worldwide.
Translation by Daniel Wetta.
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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