原标题：警惕！“全球停课”之下教育不平等加剧
持续肆虐的新冠肺炎疫情，造成了全球教育活动的中断。联合国教科文组织的数据显示，全球190多个国家和地区采取学校停课措施，大约有15亿学生受到了影响。
面对疫情造成的停课，绝大多数国家正在通过网络课程和远程学习来保证教学活动的开展。
将传统教学过渡至线上，对教师和学生们来说也许是个不小的挑战。
而对那些处于贫穷、落后国家和地区的人们来说，这种过渡更是难上加难。通讯技术落后、网络不发达、买不起电脑设备等诸多因素限制了远程教育的开展，“数字鸿沟”也在一定程度上加剧了教育的不平等。
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic， more than 90 percent of the world‘s learners， around 1.5 billion students， can’t go to schools in 190 countries and regions， according to the United Nations Educational， Scientific， and Cultural Organization（UNESCO）。
Online learning has become the main way to obtain knowledge and keep up with classes for students。 However， it‘s not easy for some to access the internet and many can’t afford to buy computers。
In sub-Saharan Africa， 89 percent of learners don‘t have access to household computers and 82 percent lack internet access。
These figures were compiled by the Teacher Task Force， an international alliance coordinated by UNESCO。
A screenshot of a UNESCO article about“Startling digital divides in distance learning emerge。”
Inequality gap between students
“These inequalities are a real threat to learning continuity at a time of unprecedented educational disruption，” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education， Stefania Giannini。
The inequality gap between students in different financial situations， which has been present in education systems for a long time， is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic。
Underprivileged students， such as those in sub-Saharan Africa， are facing increased obstacles to achieving good grades as they have limited online resources during the pandemic。
A student in Africa。/VCG
Information and communication technology skills
Teachers in many countries are also being trained– albeit to different extents– to deliver distance education effectively， but those in low-income countries are having problems to learn information and communication technology（ICT） skills。
Across sub-Saharan Africa， just 64 percent of primary and 50 percent of secondary teachers have received minimum training， and this frequently does not include ICT， according to the UNESCO website。 This so-called digital divide has raised people‘s concern。
Action has been taken to close the education gap。 UNESCO held the fifth COVID-19 Educational Response Webinar on April 17 to share country experiences in distance education learning strategies。
Education plays an important role in social development。 However， the COVID-19 pandemic is putting poor students at a disadvantage than their wealthier peers。
