Ei-iE

The 7th Education International (EI) World Congress meeting in Ottawa, Canada, from 21nd to 26th July 2015, adopts the addendum to section/paragraphs 20 – 28, on equitable and inclusive education, of the Education Policy Paper, ‘Building the Future through Quality Education’, which was adopted by the EI 6th World Congress in 2011.

1. Millions of children worldwide are unable to access quality education, or successfully complete a full cycle of education due to the devastating impact of poverty and their low socio-economic status and position. Socio-economic status is a structural challenge to learning, which governments must address as a matter of priority if states are to meet their obligation to provide quality education that is equitable and inclusive of all.

2. In addition, the intersection of low socio-economic status with other inequalities such as age, disability, ethnicity or indigeneity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation, language, marital status, migratory status, political activism, religion, socio-economic status, trade union affiliation, among others, means that millions of children face exclusion from, or crushing discrimination and marginalisation within education. States must support, financially and otherwise, the collection of data that focuses on the issues affecting groups that are excluded from or marginalised within education as a result of multiple and intersecting inequalities. It is crucial for all actors in the education field to understand how and why inequalities multiply and intersect with each other, leading to the exclusion of already vulnerable children from quality education.