World Bank weighs development cost of COVID-19-driven school closures on poor countries

School’s out: the Corona Virus threat has ‘wiped out’ the remainder of the school term

Global concerns over the spread of the coronavirus have forced countries around the world to close schools prematurely and for durations that cannot, in the immediate term, be determined, but while the World Bank accepts the eventuality as a regrettable necessity it says that there could be a high price to pay for keeping children out of school for what now seems likely to be an extended period. 

A March 18 World Bank Blog titled “Managing the impact of education systems around the world: How countries are preparing, coping and planning for recovery,” while not kicking against the schools closure decision around the world for periods that are yet to be determined, takes a hard look at some of the likely social, economic and other consequences that are likely to derive from the enforced school break, particularly in poor countries.