One million Northerners to acquire Basic Education by 2020

Unlike most other countries, the Philippines has decided to keep schools closed for another year to contain COVID-19. Rights advocates warn millions of children without internet access are missing out on an education.

While the coronavirus pandemic has had a "significant" impact on children and adolescents' mental health, it is "just the tip of the iceberg," says UNICEF.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣

More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by October 2021 amid a "dramatic deterioration of living conditions", the UN's children's fund UNICEF said in a report released on Tuesday (November 23). Children have been hit hard by the country's deep economic crisis exacerbated by the global coronavirus pandemic which has left about eight in 10 people poor and threatens the education of some 700,000 children including 260,000 Lebanese, the report said.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to limit teaching about homosexuality and transgender topics in schools. Hungarians will get the chance to vote on the issue, perhaps on the same day as next year's national election.

The press discusses the pressure being placed on French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer as teachers go on strike over confusing Covid-19 rules. We also discuss the outrage of the British papers towards PM Boris Johnson's Partygate mea culpa. We then discover how marijuana could help combat Covid-19 infections. Finally, the papers tell us of a blind date that went viral when a couple in China had to struggle through a sudden lockdown together.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of education exclusion globally, according to the UN. Nearly 60% of youth aged 15 to 17 are not in school. Activists on the continent are now fighting to change that.

The Taliban has said they want to allow girls to continue attending school. That does not mean, however, an education in the Western sense of the word.

Did you know that in Anglophone Cameroon, schoolkids don't wear uniforms? It's to avoid being identified by attackers. Also, they don't attend school on Mondays. Our teen reporter, 16-year-old Lum Precious, speaks with her peers in the first episode of GirlZOffMute from Cameroon. They appeal to President Paul Biya to act immediately so that kids no longer fear being attacked on their way to school

A Nigerian school is targeting students from poor families to give them a chance to excel at science, technology, engineering and mathematics for 100 naira (0.25 cents) fee a day, hoping they can hone skills that can help their families climb out of poverty. Faridat Bakare, an 12-year-old student has developed a solar-powered prototype car as she sets her eyes on becoming an engineer.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has upended its education system. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have shelled over 1,000 schools, fully destroying nearly 100 of them. Not even educational facilities serving as emergency shelters have been spared. Still, teachers across the country are doing what they can to continue to offer a safe education. Among them is Zoya Lytvyn, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and education expert. She joined us for Perspective.