The United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Education is annually observed across the globe on 24th January to celebrate the role of education for peace and development. The day highlights the importance of inclusive and equitable education and opportunities for all.
- 24th January 2022 marks the observance of the 4th International Day of Education.
The theme of the 2022 International Day of Education is “Changing Course, Transforming Education”.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted the resolution A/RES/73/25 on 3rd December 2018 and proclaimed the 24th January as the International Day of Education to acknowledge the importance of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels.
ii.The resolution was co-authored by Nigeria and 58 other Member States.
iii.The first ever International Day of Education was observed on 24th January 2019.
Significance of 2022 International Day of Education:
The day provides a platform to showcase the important transformations that nurture to realise the fundamental rights to education and build more sustainable, inclusive and peaceful futures.
Importance of Education:
i.According to the UN, Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility.
ii.The right to education is enshrined in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
iii.The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015 recognised that education is essential for the success of all 17 of its goals.
iv.Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.
Key Points:
i.Around 258 million children and youth do not attend school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic mathematics.
ii.Around 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete their lower secondary school and around 4 million children and youth refugees are out of school.
iii.The right to education of these children is being violated.
UNESCO Reports:
i.The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO)’s new global report on the Futures of Education entitled Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education, aimed to speed up the global debate on the role of education in shaping peaceful, just and sustainable common futures.
ii.The new report titled “The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery” shows that in low- and middle-income countries the share of children living in Learning Poverty could become 70% due to school closures and ineffectiveness of remote learning.
