Ei-iE

The 10th Education International (EI) World Congress, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 29 July to 2 August, notes that:

1. SDG 4 commits that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2030; and aims to eliminate income and gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training. 1
2. Despite these commitments the world is currently way off track in terms of the delivery of SDG4, and that the Covid pandemic has worsened what was already an alarming situation.
3. Some 44 million new, qualified teachers must be recruited by 2030 to achieve SDG 4, according to UNESCO, while the current supply of educators need better resources, training, continuous professional development, pay and working conditions if they are to be able to deliver quality, inclusive education.2
4. The US$148 billion annual financing gap in low- and lower-middle-income countries to achieve SDG 4 by 2030 has increased by up to one-third. 3

Congress further notes that:

5. Around the world, children, and girls in particular, are being denied their fundamental right to an education. Nowhere is this most clearly seen than in Afghanistan, the only country in the world to suspend girls’ and women’s access to secondary school and higher education leaving 1.1 million girls and women without access to formal education.4
6. Girls are disproportionately missing out on school: worldwide, 129 million girls are out of school, with, according to UNICEF 5 most of the world’s out-of-school girls living in crisis-affected countries.6 Girls who are not in education are more at risk of early or forced marriage and early pregnancy.
7. Fewer than half of countries (49%) have achieved gender parity in primary education and the gender gap widens further up the education system: for secondary education the figure is just 42 per cent and only 24 per cent in upper secondary education.7

Congress believes that:

8. Investing in girls’ education transforms the life chances not simply of those girls and their families but of their communities and wider society.
9. Educated girls are less likely to marry at a young age, less likely to be victims of domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and more likely to lead healthy lives in which they have a say over their own futures.
10. Girls’ education helps lift families and communities out of poverty as educated young women earn higher incomes. Educated girls act as role models for their peers, siblings and their own children, helping to tackle gender discrimination and inequality in current and future generations.
11. Achieving full education for girls requires political will; investment in high-quality public education to ensure universal access; that girls can travel safely to school and feel safe once they arrive; that classrooms and schools have functioning toilets and hygiene services, including menstrual hygiene management facilities; that girls have access to women teachers who can acts as role models as professional women; that girls can access a broad and balanced curriculum, including STEM subjects and digital skills.
12. The achievement of SDG4 requires prioritising and supporting the world’s teachers, recognising that investing in qualified, well-trained teachers is one of the greatest investments we can make in our future.

Congress resolves to:

13. Refocus efforts on the achievement of SDG 4 in all its parts, with a particular emphasis on gender equity in education.
14. Lobby Governments to increase their domestic investments in public education in order to meet international benchmarks to spend at least 4-6% of GDP and/or at least 15-20% of total public expenditure on education as recommended in the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration.8
15. Advocate that donor governments spend at least 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and allocate at least 15% of ODA to global education as advised in the final report of the UN Secretary General’s Transforming Education Summit.9
16. Champion the need for Governments to redouble efforts to address the global teacher shortage, with a focus, on the recruitment and retaining of women teachers through measures that address their specific needs and circumstances, recognising that the shortage of women teachers acts as a barrier to girls’ education.
17. Ensure gender parity for women teachers in terms of pay, conditions, training, professional development, and status, and address their specific needs to paid maternity leave, flexible working and support with childcare.
18. Support EI member organisations to develop policies that elevate the status of women both within the profession and within their unions and ensure that women occupy union leadership positions in numbers at least representative of the membership of women in their respective unions.
19. Call on the international community to intensify calls on the Taliban to reopen all schools and places of higher education to girls and young women, and fund equal and quality education for girls and boys in Afghanistan.