A/HRC/44/39 television and radio. Computers, tablets, television screens and radios have been distributed, Internet connections deployed and learning materials distributed by post or made available in schoolyards.23 33. While welcoming these efforts, the Special Rapporteur warns against the temptation to see high-tech solutions as the main or best way to ensure continuity of education in times of crisis, when it is absolutely necessary to consider a mix of high-tech, low-tech and notech solutions, depending on the context. The simplest technology, such as printed material, can have a positive impact on learning continuity during periods of school closure and should form a core part of responses. 34. For example, INEE recommends that, depending on context and cohort, a multipronged approach might be the most appropriate, keeping in mind that from both a supply and demand perspective, most digital forms of distance learning in areas with limited connectivity will be difficult. First, most education systems in fragile and conflictaffected contexts are not set up to support Internet connectivity. Second, most marginalized populations will not have the financial or physical means to support their children with digital distance learning. It is necessary to consider, for example: the costs of downloading, uploading and streaming additional data; the limited likelihood of homes having (sufficient) hardware to support online learning; the potentially gendered nature of access to whatever hardware exists within households; and the likelihood that, in a crisis, household income will decrease while the use of savings to cover critical costs will increase.24 35. In addition, preserving some degree of interaction between students and teachers and among students is crucial.25 Furthermore, even in the poorest households and in households with limited literacy, parental and sibling engagement and support can add significantly to learning outcomes using very simple methods.26 36. Excessive reliance on online distance learning tools to ensure the continuity of education risks exacerbating inequalities. Numbers released by UNESCO speak for themselves: half of the total number of learners (about 826 million students) kept out of the classroom by the COVID-19 pandemic do not have access to a household computer and 43 per cent (706 million) have no Internet at home.27 37. Disparities are particularly acute in low-income countries: in sub-Saharan Africa, 89 per cent of learners do not have access to household computers and 82 per cent lack Internet access. Furthermore, while mobile telephones can enable learners to access information, connect with their teachers and with one another, about 56 million learners live in locations not served by mobile networks – with almost half of these being in subSaharan Africa.28 Many reports have been published about the difficulties faced in accessing online tools, in particular for those in remote or rural areas, including in developed countries. 38. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern, in this regard, that statistical data about access to online distance learning may lack accuracy. It has been reported, for example, that in some countries, including Albania, private schools have not been taken into consideration when collecting such statistics.29 It is also likely that non-formal educational 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 10 See https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ndHgP53atJ5JEtxgWcpSfYG8LdzHpUsnb6mWybErYg/edit?ts=5e6f893e#gid=0. See also Shelby Carvalho and Lee Crawfurd, “School’s out: now what?” (Center for Global Development, 25 March 2020). INEE, “Technical note: education during the COVID-19 pandemic” (New York, April 2020), p. 13. Ibid. Submission from Save the Children. See https://en.unesco.org/news/startling-digital-divides-distance-learning-emerge. The figures at this web page were compiled by the Teacher Task Force, an international alliance coordinated by UNESCO, on the basis of data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the International Telecommunication Union. Ibid. Comité européen pour l’enseignement catholique, Information Bulletin No. 7 (May 2020), p. 4. Available from http://enseignement.catholique.be/ceec_wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/CEECNewsletter-N%C2%B07-Mai2020fr%C3%A7s.pdf (in French).