Quality education is the foundation for improving the living conditions of human beings and for sustainable development. The international community is committed to this priority by including in the sustainable development goals inclusive and quality education for all.
Yet today 258 million children and young people are still out of school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read or do simple calculations; less than 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete secondary school and nearly four million refugee children and youth are out of school.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused a learning disruption on a global scale of unprecedented scale and severity. The closure of schools, universities and other educational institutions, as well as the disruption of many literacy and lifelong learning programs, have disrupted the lives of 1.6 billion learners in over from 190 countries.
The pandemic has amplified social, economic and digital inequalities, putting an entire generation at risk of an educational disaster.
January 24 International Day of Education
The third edition of the International Day of Education will be an opportunity to mobilize in order to intensify collaboration and international solidarity in order to place education and learning at the center of efforts to revive and transform towards societies. more inclusive, safer and more sustainable.
Theme 2021: Relaunch and revitalize education for the COVID-19 generation
This year, International Education Day will focus on three main themes: heroes of learning, innovation and funding.
Celebrate with us the International Day of Education and follow the event organized by UNESCO, the Global Partnership for Education and the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CRI)
Monday January 25, 2021 – 14: 00-17: 00 (GMT + 1)
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France’s commitment to education
Investing in education is one of France’s top priorities. In 2018, France devoted 1.1 billion euros to education, or 12.4% of its official development assistance. During the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2017, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron recalled that the challenges of contemporary globalization, such as great migration or terrorism, can only be met through education .
France has therefore increased its voluntary contribution to UNESCO in order to improve access to inclusive quality education and vocational training, in particular for young girls and adolescents.
France’s aid to education also supports French influence and the Francophonie by improving access, quality and equity in education, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel.
At the multilateral level, France also contributes to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the objective of which is to mobilize the international community for an increased effort to finance the development of sustainable and resilient education systems. France counts, with nearly 349 million dollars committed, as one of the main donor countries of the GPE.
Concretely, this sum makes it possible to finance the implementation of education plans to fight against the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus benefiting 76 partner countries which have seen more than 100 million primary school students drop out of school and secondary.
Finally, the year 2021 will be an important year for the SME which will see the organization by the United Kingdom and Kenya of its 4th replenishment conference. The goal will be to raise $ 5 billion to allow the organization to continue its action in 87 eligible countries by educating 88 million additional children and promoting the learning of 175 million girls and boys. On this occasion, France should reaffirm its support for SMEs for the next financial cycle (2021-2026).
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