Schools need to reopen rapidly in three Ebola-hit states in West Africa as some five million children are being denied education, a campaign group says.
Education has become "one of the first casualties of the crisis" in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, it added.
The "most marginalised" would bear the brunt of the crisis for generations to come if "safe schools" were not reopened, the group said.
Ebola was declared a health emergency after it was identified in March.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says 6,055 people have died of the deadly virus in the three countries.
Schools were shut to reduce the risk of children becoming infected.
The Global Business Coalition for Education said reopening of schools would not only give children education, but it would also provide a "first line of defence in tracing and monitoring potential cases of Ebola".
Indications were that 54 per cent of children were unlikely to return to the classroom if they were out of school for a year, its report, published in collaboration with A World at School said.
"Being out of school can have a crippling impact for vulnerable children, especially girls who are more subject to high-risk situations, including pregnancy and early marriage," it added.
"The risk of child labour increases rapidly as contributing to the household economy becomes critical for families."
CREDIT: BBC
