The unesco This Thursday he called for a “global mobilization” to give priority to education, which has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with a double crisis of learning and financing.
On the occasion of a two-day meeting at its Paris headquarters with more than 150 ministers, UNESCO highlighted in a statement the worsening of the education crisis with the coronavirus.
Its CEO, Audrey Azoulay, explained that with the closure of schools in low- and middle-income countries, “70% of 10-year-olds are unable to understand a simple written text” compared to 57% in 2019.
Azoulay demanded the collaboration of the international community to face this “great social crisis” since in these circumstances youth will have significant difficulties in joining the workplace.
What we need ?:
✔️Inclusive, equitable and safe schools
✔️Qualified teachers
✔️Access to digital learning
✔️More investmentWhat would you add to this to-do list to transform education?
✏️https://t.co/SGBKjXrG6k #TransformationOfEducation pic.twitter.com/a03QTU5DhM
— UNESCO in Spanish ?️#Education #Science #Culture (@UNESCO_es) June 30, 2022
The financial problem is another challenge facing education, since during the pandemic 40% of low and middle income countries had to reduce their spending on education (a reduction of 13.5% on average) and still 2019 levels have not been recovered.
“I call for mobilization: education must once again occupy a prominent place on the international community’s agenda if we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said the director general.
This UNESCO meeting, which has brought together some 2,000 participants from around the world, aims to prepare the Summit on the Transformation of Education that will begin on September 19 in New York.