Education
Climate Change Erodes Education Outcomes: World Bank Report
A new World Bank policy note reveals alarming evidence on how climate change is severely impacting education outcomes worldwide. The report highlights the increasing frequency of school closures due to extreme weather events and other climate-related factors, outlining the urgent need for adaptation measures within the education sector.
Over the past two decades, schools were closed during approximately 75 percent of extreme weather events affecting over 5 million people. It has become common for countries to close their schools multiple times a year due to heatwaves, flooding, and high pollution levels. The duration of these closures is often prolonged when school infrastructure is vulnerable or used as evacuation centres.
Climate change is also indirectly affecting students through increased diseases, stress, and conflict. The report notes that a one standard deviation change in temperature and rainfall has been linked to a 14 percent increase in the risk of intergroup conflict and interpersonal violence. These factors have severe consequences on children’s educational attainment and achievement.
The erosion of learning due to climate change translates into lower future earnings and productivity, especially for the poor. Research indicates that each additional year of schooling is associated with a 10 percent increase in earnings. As climate shocks reduce educational attainment, future earnings are likely to suffer, perpetuating cycles of poverty and limiting social mobility across generations.
Despite these growing negative impacts, the report indicates that policymakers do not fully appreciate the urgency of climate adaptation within the education sector. A novel survey covering 94 education policymakers across 28 low- and middle-income countries reveals that nearly 61 percent ranked the protection of learning from climate change among the bottom three priorities in their country. This low prioritisation is troubling because the benefits of education are under threat.
To build resilience in education systems, policymakers must act on four fronts: education management, school infrastructure, students and teachers as change agents, and ensuring learning continuity. The report underscores the need for immediate action to adapt education systems to cope with extreme weather events.
For instance, global estimates indicate that the education sector experiences financial losses of $4 billion annually due to tropical cyclones alone. In the Philippines, over 10,000 classrooms are damaged per year due to typhoons and floods.
The World Bank’s findings stress that for millions of children who will need to attend school over the next 50 years, the results of climate mitigation will come too late. Governments must act now to increase the capacity of education systems to adapt and cope with these increasingly prevalent extreme weather events.
As climate change continues to pose severe risks to educational outcomes, it is imperative that policymakers recognise and address these challenges urgently. The future of education depends on our ability to adapt and build resilience against the adverse effects of climate change.
Source- ANI