On 23rd June 2020, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report Team launched its 2020 Report on Inclusion and Education: All Means All, assessing the progress towards the Sustainable Developments Goal 4 on education and other SDG agendas related to education.
Key Points:
i.The report focuses on providing an resilient and equal society to those who are left behind.
ii.The report estimates that around 40% of low and lower-middle income countries have not provided any support to the disadvantaged students during the lockdown due to COVID-19 situations.
iii.The efforts made to continue the learning amid pandemic has worsened the exclusion and around 91% of students across the globe are out of school in April 2020.
iv.The report states that when the schools reopen, 17% of low and middle-income countries are planning to recruit more teachers, 22% to increase class time, and 68% to introduce remedial classes.
Substitute methods:
i.To provide lessons amid lockdown the poor countries opted for radio and television lessons, 55% of low-income, 73% of lower-middle-income and 93% of upper-middle-income countries adopted for online learning platforms.
ii.The students and teachers who do not have access to internet, equipment, skills and working conditions are facing difficulties in using the adopted platforms that rely on the technology.
Inequitable Foundations:
i.The GEM report team of UNESCO has launched a new website, PEER to provide information on Laws and policies regarding education in the countries around the world.
ii.The report states that the practice of education segregation enforcing stereotyping, discriminations and alienations are still followed in many countries.
iii.Laws in a quarter of all countries require children with disabilities to have a separate educational setting rising to more than 40% in Latin America, Caribbean and Asia.
About UNESCO:
Director-General– Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters– Paris, France
