A quarter-billion children getting no education at all, says UN

Lessons from the past - such as with Ebola - have shown that health crises can leave many behind, in particular the poorest girls, says UNESCO's director general Audrey Azoulay.

Nearly 260 million children had no access to schooling in 2018, a United Nations agency said in a report that blamed poverty and discrimination for educational inequalities that are being exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak.

Children from poorer communities as well as girls, the disabled, immigrants and ethnic minorities were at a distinct educational disadvantage in many countries, the UN's Paris-based education body UNESCO said.