No Spanish youngster will fail the school year over the coronavirus crisis, and only in “very exceptional” circumstances will anyone have to repeat the year, AFP quoted the education minister as saying on Wednesday.

All educational establishments in Spain have been shuttered since mid-March when the government imposed a national lockdown to slow the spread of the virus that has now killed more than 18,500 people across the country.

With similar lockdowns across the globe keeping an estimated 850 million young people out of school, it has created an “unprecedented challenge” for governments and educators, the UN has said, with authorities now mulling the fate of the interrupted school year.

In a televised press conference, Spain's Education Minister Isabel Celaa said no child would fail the year as a result of the crisis, and that authorities would provide voluntary catch-up programmes over the summer.