Direct and indirect effects of the covid-19 pandemic and response in South Asia

Educational attainment

South Asia is home to approximately 420 million school-aged children who have been out of school since March 2020. At best, only 2 out of every 3 are being reached by remote learning, with children living in rural areas and poorer households less likely to be able to access remote learning (56). The impact on the youngest children, who are within the most sensitive windows for learning, are also likely to be substantial. As a result of prolonged school closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic almost 9 million (8,788,476)

primary and secondary school-aged children (2,724,686, and 6,063,789, respectively) are expected to permanently dropout of schools, with the highest number expected in India (7,017,721) (Table 13).

billion) and Bangladesh (US$ 7.4 billion), followed by Sri Lanka (US$ 1.9 billion). Table 13 summarizes the estimated number of children expected to permanently dropout of school, and the impact this will have on each country’s GDP over the course of these children’s lifetime.

© UNICEF/bangladesh/UN0391460/Khaliduzzaman/2020