One and a half billion children lost classroom time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some may never return.

The claim is that about 1.5 billion children lost classroom time because of COVID-19 school closures, and that some might never return. True: UNESCO/UNICEF figures show about 1.5 billion learners or children (roughly 1.4 to 1.6 billion) affected by pandemic school closures, and credible sources at the time warned that some would not return. Mostly true: the figure counts 'learners' including university students rather than strictly children, or is otherwise slightly off, but the claim is substantially right. Mostly false: the true figure is much smaller (for example under 1.2 billion) or covers a different population, distorting the scale. False: there is no basis for a figure of this size.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 COVID-19: UNESCO and partners in education launch global campaign to keep girls in the picture UNESCO · 28 August 2020

   “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the largest school closures and education disruption in history, with more than 1.5 billion students affected at the height of the crisis. Over 767 million of these students were girls.”

2. E2 COVID-19: UNESCO and partners in education launch global campaign to keep girls in the picture UNESCO · 28 August 2020

   “Over 11 million girls – from pre-primary to tertiary education - may not return to school in 2020.”

3. E3 UNESCO survey highlights measures taken by countries to limit impact UNESCO · 28 April 2020

   “school closures due to COVID-19 that has now impacted over 1.5 billion students.”

4. E4 UNICEF GLOBAL COVID-19 Situation Report UNICEF · November 2020

   “Approximately 318 million learners continue to be affected due to COVID-19 related school closures (a decline from a peak of 1.5 billion learners affected on 4 April).”

UNESCO reported that more than 1.5 billion students were affected by COVID-19 school closures at the height of the crisis (E1, E3). UNICEF gave the same peak of 1.5 billion learners on 4 April 2020 (E4). UNESCO also warned that over 11 million girls might not return to school in 2020 (E2), which is consistent with the claim that some children might not return. However, these figures count "students" or "learners" (E1, E3, E4) rather than strictly children. Under the criteria, that makes the claim mostly true rather than fully true.