More than 168 million children around the world have been kept out of school for almost a year due to COVID-19 lockdowns, according to new data from the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF. 

They warn that year-long closures have had a catastrophic impact on children, with devastating long-term consequences for the most vulnerable. 

Where the voices of children once filled classrooms around the world, a deafening silence now sits at these empty desks and chairs. 

UNICEF’s “Pandemic Classroom” installation at U.N. headquarters marks nearly a year since COVID-19 lockdowns forced over 168 million children out of their classrooms. 

Each desk, chair, and backpack represents a million children kept from in-person learning since March last year.

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