UNESCO warns 117 million students around the world are still out of school

A year and a half since the COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global school closures, many students have been able to resume in-class learning, but millions have yet to return to the classroom. Schools are now fully open in 117 countries with a combined learner population of 539 million ranging from pre-primary to secondary levels. This represents 35% of the total student population across the world, compared to 16% who returned to school in September 2020, when schools were only open in 94 countries.