Education ‘Single-Most Important Investment Any Country Can Make’, Says Secretary-General, in Remarks for Special Event

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks for the special event on transforming education, in New York today:

Almost two years have passed since the Transforming Education Summit in New York.  Since then, the world has grown more unequal.  Climate action has become more urgent.  New technologies have become more disruptive.  War and violence have — sadly — become more widespread.  And all the while, the global crisis in education that we came together to address at the Summit has shown little sign of abating.

Without a dramatic shift in tackling that crisis, we cannot — and will not — shape a more peaceful, sustainable and just world.  Because education is about more than knowledge and skills.

Education is about the future.  The future of children and young people.  The future of economies.  The future of our planet and its natural gifts.  The future of technology, and whether or not it helps or harms humanity. And the future of our relations with one another.

Education is not only about learning.  Education is about learning how to learn too.  It extends beyond any individual subject or classroom to the very character of societies themselves.

Every country should be sparing no effort to create true learning societies, grounded in systems that provide lifelong learning opportunities that extend from childhood throughout adulthood.

Given the stakes, the world cannot afford to short-change education.  But, by nearly every measure, that is exactly what we are doing.  Some 84 million children are likely to remain out of school by 2030.  Secondary school completion rates are rising, but at a snail’s pace.

Getting more learners into classrooms isn’t enough.  We also face a problem of quality.  For example, it’s truly shocking that some 70 per cent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are unable to read a basic text by age 10.

And education systems are still struggling to close the learning and attendance gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in historic levels of school closures and lost learning for a generation of students — a crisis that remains to this day.

Meanwhile, education systems are not equipping learners with the skills they need to thrive in our rapidly changing world.  Early-childhood education and vocational and adult learning are seen as optional, instead of proven and essential pathways for life-long learning.  At every step of this crisis, we face a problem of financing.

Last year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) pegged the investment gap for developing countries to reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 at a staggering $100 billion per year, as it was just referred.

Meanwhile, four of every 10 people worldwide live in countries where Governments spend more on debt servicing than on education or health. At the Transforming Education Summit, more than 140 countries put forward ambitious national commitments to turn this crisis around.  And international partners came together around a series of special initiatives, with inspiring new progress emerging from last month’s Summit Stocktake.

But let’s be clear:  progress is far too slow and uneven.  Something has to change.  Today, as we look ahead to September’s Summit of the Future, November’s Global Education Meeting, and next year’s major Summits on Social Development and Financing for Development, I am putting forward a four-point plan to end the global education crisis.

First — by closing the financing gap.  Leaders must meet, and where possible, exceed the international benchmark of dedicating 15 per cent of domestic revenue and 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to education.

In Africa alone, we estimate that better taxation and more efficient public expenditure could unlock more than $115 billion in revenues. But developing countries cannot do it alone.  Donors must increase their development spending on education, including as part of the World Bank’s International Development Association’s replenishment.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral development banks should protect education spending in countries that are in debt distress.  International partners must speed-up progress on the SDG Stimulus to get the needed $500 billion a year in finance flowing.  And the global financial architecture must be reformed so developing countries can access adequate financing to achieve their development goals, including, naturally, education.

Second — we must close the access gap.  Whether students are in war zones or disaster areas; whether they are on the move as migrants or refugees, or they live in poor and under-served communities; whether they are girls, persons with disabilities, or part of other marginalized groups; or they are victims of self-defeating decrees such as those in Afghanistan banning young women from secondary and tertiary education; or they are children coming under direct attack in schools themselves — a shocking and all-too-common occurrence that must never happen, anywhere. Every child and young person deserves an education.

We must fully invest in programmes, in safe environments and in educational infrastructure that can reach all children with the learning and skills they need and deserve.  No matter where they live.  No matter who they are.

Third — we must support the women and men on the front lines of education: teachers.  We face a dramatic shortage of teachers — an estimated 44 million worldwide.  And millions of teachers lack the support, tools and continuous training they need.  Following the Transforming Education Summit, the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession has developed concrete recommendations to ensure that every learner has access to a professionally trained, qualified and well-supported teacher.

I welcome the efforts of UNESCO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to translate these recommendations into a new global standard on the Status of Teachers.  And I call on all countries, teachers’ unions and partners to join forces to bring these recommendations to life in classrooms around the world.

Fourth — it’s time for a revolution within education systems themselves.  To move away from structures that limit education to children and young people alone. To nurture the development and curiosity of every student of all ages.  And to end the over-reliance on testing and rote-learning.  To do so, we must rethink what students are learning — with a strong focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as skills in green and digital technology.

We must rethink how students are learning — including harnessing digital technology to improve the learning and teaching experience and to improve access for students in remote or inaccessible areas.  And we must rethink when students are learning — to reconfigure education systems so people can learn and re-skill throughout their lifetimes.

Education is the single-most important investment any country can make.  In its people.  And in its future.  So, let’s start walking the talk.  Let’s come together to end the global crisis in education.

Let’s keep education at the heart of the global agenda including the Summit of the Future this September.  Let’s develop solutions and investment pathways for every country to develop true learning societies.  And let’s support the dreams, ambitions and talents of every person, young and old, throughout their lives.