The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to education

Pandemija COVID-19 u relativno kratkom vremenu uvukla se u sve sfere ljudskog života ne izostavivši pritom ni obrazovni sustav. Obrazovanje je temeljno ljudsko pravo i najvažniji čimbenik u sprječavanju siromaštva i socijalne isključenosti, no unatoč tome velik broj zemalja još uvijek nije ispunio zahtjev za osiguravanjem jednakog pristupa obrazovanju. Epidemiološka mjera zatvaranja školskih ustanova s ciljem sprječavanja širenja bolesti taj je zahtjev dodatno otežala obzirom da se nastava morala početi odvijati na daljinu. Pri tome je jedan od glavnih problema predstavljao digitalni jaz uslijed kojeg neki učenici nemaju pristup internetu i računalnoj opremi ili pak nemaju razvijene odgovarajuće digitalne vještine. Shodno tome, u ovom radu prikazane su specifičnosti utjecaja koronavirusa na pristup svim razinama obrazovanja. Radi dobivanja detaljnijeg uvida, opisane su i osobitosti odabranih europskih (Hrvatska, Španjolska, Italija, Finska) i izvaneuropskih (S.A.D, Indija, Supsaharska Afrika) zemalja po pitanju omogućavanja pristupa obrazovanju u vremenu pandemije pri čemu su identificirane velike razlike u stupnju uspješnosti. Na kraju rada iznesene su preporuke za poboljšanje pristupa obrazovanju ukoliko se situacija s koronavirusom nastavi, a koje mogu poslužiti i kao nit vodilja za daljnju primjenu digitalizacije u sustavu obrazovanja.The COVID-19 pandemic has entered all spheres of human life in a relatively short time, including the education system. Education is a fundamental right and the most important factor in preventing poverty and social exclusion but many countries have not yet met the requirement to ensure equal access to education. The epidemiological measure of closing school facilities in order to prevent the spread of the virus made this requirement even more difficult because of the switch to online learning. One of the main problems was the digital divide, due to which some students do not have access to the Internet and computer equipment or do not have appropriate digital skills. Therefore, this paper presents the specifics of the impact of coronavirus on access to all levels of education. In order to gain a more detailed insight, the characteristics of selected European (Croatia, Spain, Italy, Finland) and nonEuropean (U.S.A, India, Sub-Saharan Africa) countries in terms of providing access to education during the pandemic are shown and large differences in performance have been identified. At the end of the paper, recommendations for improving access to education are made in case the coronavirus situation continues but they could also serve as a guiding thread for the further application of digitalization in the education system