Responding to Climate Change: Sector Script for Education

Abstract:

More indirectly but perhaps even more significantly, a series of socio-economic impacts of climate change may reduce educational achievements and the performance of the education system. Some impacts may lead to increased school dropout rates or an increase in the number of days children and teachers do not attend school: for instance, children may be required to spend more time fetching increasingly scarce water and fuelwood, or to assist in agricultural work or seek other work under conditions of reduced agricultural production / increased precariousness of livelihoods. The increased prevalence of malnutrition, which is known to impair concentration and learning capacity and, if suffered over long periods during childhood, to impair mental development, may adversely impact on children's performance at school. The increased morbidity caused by changes in water availability and quality, changes in the seasonality and range of disease vectors, etc. may both reduce school attendance by pupils and teachers and adversely impact children’s and students’ learning performance.