UN head says global school closures could cause "generational catastrophe"

• He added that at least 40 million more children around the world have missed out on education "in their critical preschool year."

The big picture: The pandemic has exacerbated what Guterres called the world's "learning crisis."

• More than 250 million children were already out of school before the pandemic, and only a quarter of people in developing countries left school "with basic skills."

What he's saying: "We are at a defining moment for the world’s children and young people," Guterres said.

• "The decisions that governments and partners take now will have lasting impact on hundreds of millions of young people, and on the development prospects of countries for decades to come."
• Guterres added that "getting students back into schools and learning institutions as safely as possible must be a top priority" for localities that have contained the spread of the virus.