Marking International Day of Education

On December 3, 2018, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution co-authored by Nigeria and 58 other member states, demonstrating the ‘unwavering political will to support transformative actions for inclusive, equitable and quality education for all.’ The 2023 edition is the fifth of the event that commenced in 2018.

The crux of marking this day is the UN’s belief that comprehensive, equitable quality education and lifetime opportunities for everyone are necessary for attaining gender equality and ending the cycle of poverty.

Despite the best collective efforts, it is believed that millions of children, youth and adults are behind. With over 244 million children and youth being out of school and 771 million adults being illiterate, UNESCO believes that the right to education is grossly violated. Very truly, without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, no nation, developed or underdeveloped, will succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Celebrating the IDE this year, UNESCO called on the international community to make extra efforts to promote the right to education for all, regardless of age, place, or background. This year's IDE was dedicated to girls and women in Afghanistan who were deprived of their right to education.

An ardent call marked the global celebration of the IDE for the immediate lifting of the ban restricting women’s access to education. In contrast, in the last year, UNICEF and UNESCO jointly called on the private sector to cooperate for a better academic year to respond to the call for more actions to overcome learning loss during the pandemic.

Based on the foundations set last year, this year’s IDE called for strong mobilisation around education and charting how to translate commitments and global initiatives into action. This agenda assumes importance against growing inequalities and the climate crisis, highlighting that education must be prioritised to accelerate progress towards achieving’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN.

This year’s edition of the IDE was dedicated to all the girls and women in Afghanistan who have been denied their right to learn, study and teach. The Taliban are banning women from attending universities and other educational institutions.

UNESCO condemned the Taliban attack on human dignity as an onslaught on the fundamental right to education, highlighting one of the most challenging crises of the current time. Since the political shift in Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan remains the only country where girls and women cannot access education beyond the primary level.

In Afghanistan, access to education beyond the primary level is indefinitely suspended for all Afghan girls above the age of 12. This means that 80% or roughly 2.5 million of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school, while nearly 30% of girls in Afghanistan have never entered primary education.

The recent decision to suspend women’s access to universities until further notice has affected over 1 lakh female students attending higher education institutions, jeopardising their achievements in the last 20 years.

Women’s education assumed great focus, while Afghanistan was rebuilt after the global peace forces ended the civil war. Over the past years, the enrolment and participation of women increased considerably in the primary, secondary and higher education sectors.  Before the recent suspension, one out of three young women were enrolled in universities. Female participation in the University Entrance Exam showed a steady increase, and despite all the barriers, women topped the entrance exams. However, with the recent ban, much of the hard-fought progress is set to be reversed.

The main takeaway of taking up this issue to the table was the global discussion on how the international community could support Afghan girls’ and women’s right to education through innovative and impactful solutions.

The official celebrations of the IDE in the European Union recalled the situation in Afghanistan and the Russian aggression destroying more than 3000 Ukrainian educational institutions since February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Furthermore, the EU highlighted the urgent need to ensure funding for teaching and future-oriented learning, which worsened during the pandemic.

UNESCO, on the other hand, built on the global momentum generated by the ‘Transforming Education Summit’ to advance SDG4, or the fourth goal mentioned in the SDG, to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. At the Summit, five global initiatives were launched to support countries in improving their education systems, making them more inclusive and resilient to future challenges.

The initiatives above include ensuring learners are prepared for a greener future, providing digital solutions for every learner, advancing gender equality, ensuring continuity of inclusive education for learners affected by crises, and empowering young people to become influential leaders.

Incidentally, January 24 is also the day when India celebrates ‘National Girl Child Day’. This day was established in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The goal of marking this day in the country is to highlight the prejudice and injustice that girl children face and raise awareness of the injustices girls face in Indian society.

India celebrated the IDE and the National Girl Child Day with planned activities with campaigns to improve the (female) gender ratio and develop a safe and healthy environment for girls. May the global efforts to ‘prioritise education’ envisaged by the IDE inspire us to aspire without constraints and restrictions.