In an extensive report, the United Nations on Tuesday confirmed that the world will miss deadline for ensuring ‘secondary education for all children’ by more than 50 years. The goal was agreed as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – an ambitious plan to end poverty, hunger, advance equality and protect the environment. It also said that 40% percent of students are not taught in their mother tongue, which is an important part of their development.
In 2015, world leaders had agreed on a deadline of 2030, where till then all girls and boys should be able to complete free quality primary and secondary education, but chronic under-funding is holding back progress, a UN report said.
“This report should set off alarm bells around the world and lead to a historic scale-up of actions to achieve (this goal),” economist Jeffrey Sachs said in a foreword. Adding to this dismal picture, Sachs who is a special UN adviser on the SDGs said, “The gaps in educational attainment between rich and poor, within and between countries, are simply appalling.”
If the current situation prevails, universal primary education will be achieved in 2042, universal lower secondary education in 2059 and upper secondary in 2084, according to UN educational body UNESCO. It also added that in order to achieve the goal of quality universal education by 2030, a six-fold increase in financial aid is needed.
Achieving universal upper secondary education by 2030 in low income countries could lift 60 million people out of poverty by 2050, the report said.
Educating mothers to lower secondary education in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 could also prevent 3.5 million child deaths between 2050-60. The report touched on ‘obstacles’ to progress and pointed out that- conflict was by far the biggest hurdle, as it has kept over 36 million children out of school.
It also pointed out that poverty and unemployment resulting from a lack of education could fuel conflict.
Also not just the numbers, the UNESCO report targeted the quality of education being imparted and said that the type of education children are receiving is not equipping them for the challenges ahead. It called for more emphasis on teaching children about environmental concerns, climate change and how to think collectively so that they can become global citizens.
“A fundamental change is needed in the way we think about education’s role in global development, because it has a catalytic impact on the well-being of individuals and the future of our planet,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
Around 263 million children are currently out of school globally, according to the report, and almost 30 percent of children from the poorest households in low income countries have never been to school. Critics of the educational goal believe that pushing for universal upper secondary completion distracts from ensuring at least nine years of basic education for all.
