Education

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened the first Transforming Education Summit in 2022, responding to the triple crisis of quality, relevance, and equity and inclusion in education. At the start of the 2022 school year, 244 million children were out of school. Meanwhile, the students in school were often not learning the basics, with education systems unable to equip children with the values, knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today’s complex world.

Good quality ECD programs unlock the potential of young learners, set them on the right path to socialization, and give them pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills needed for successful learning in primary school. As few as 21 per cent of children in low-income countries are enrolled in ECD programmes, experiencing inequalities of access and quality because of socio-economic status, disability and geographic factors.

The divide between the haves and the have-nots persists and is becoming worse, despite school being one of the most important spaces for equalizing opportunities. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 40 per cent of children have experienced a positive and stimulating home learning environment, compared to 90 per cent of children in Europe and North America. Quality ECD remains consistently unreliable and often low quality, rendering the experience of young children less than positive and optimal for their holistic development. This makes the need to focus on effective, quality ECD even more critical.

An estimated 244 million children aged 6-18 were out of school in 2022, with 118.5 million being girls. Estimates show a slowdown in the global progress to reduce the number of out-of-school children. Regional disparities still persist, with the numbers of out-of-school children increasing in sub-Saharan Africa (98 million) and still very high in Central and Southern Asia (85 million). If trends continue, the SDG 4 of quality education for all by 2030 risks not being achieved.

The barriers to children’s education are numerous. Families facing poverty and food insecurity may rely on their children, especially boys, to support the family through agricultural work or child labour. Girls will skip school and often drop out if their schools lack adequate sanitation facilities and menstrual hygiene management resources. Education systems need to be responsive to the unique learning needs of girls, and address policies that are barriers for pregnant or young mothers re-entering and finishing school. Even as global school enrolment rates equalize for girls and boys, girls’ completion rates remain lower in low-income countries.

Globally, 267 million young people are unemployed or underemployed, with many lacking the skills needed to enter the workforce. This leaves the door open for harmful survival and coping behaviours, including violence, drugs, migration, trafficking, anti-social habits, depression or suicide.

Many factors prevent youth from being fully engaged economically, such as low education, mental health challenges, a lack of access to life skills opportunities, or technical and vocational education and training (TVET). They may also experience the stigma of coming from impoverished or violent communities, and inadequate social and emotional support to overcome their challenges.

When children living in emergency contexts are asked what they most need, their response is often to continue their education. Education protects against trauma, injury and death during a crisis but also against repeat future threats to child well-being. Safe and nurturing learning opportunities provide a return to familiar routines, instill hope for the future and mitigate the psychosocial impact of violence and displacement. The promise of Sustainable Development Goal 4, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all by 2030, will not be achieved without greater commitment to investing in, prioritizing, and protecting education, particularly in conflict and crisis contexts.

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 127 million primary and secondary school-age children and young people living in crisis-affected countries were out of school in 2019. In 2021, only 2.9 per cent of global humanitarian financing went to education, considerably less than the UN’s target of four per cent. In response to this, Education Cannot Wait’s #222MillionDreams campaign in 2023 engaged key partners (including World Vision), donors and champions worldwide to raise awareness of the urgent need to support education for 222 million crisis-affected children around the world. It called for new funding and political commitments of US$1.5 billion. More than 45 high-profile leaders from the United Nations system, governments, civil society and the private sector joined the campaign, resulting in significant new funding commitments to education in emergencies.