Repair Gaps in Financing, Access, Teachers, Quality Gaps to Ensure Education Drives Progress, Secretary-General Urges at World Summit for Social Development Event
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the high-level side event on education at the Second World Summit for Social Development at the "Education as the Foundation of the New Social Contract: Reimagining Learning to End Poverty, Create Decent Work & Achieve Inclusion for All", in Doha today:
Let me start by thanking Qatar, and in particular Her Highness Sheikha Moza, which has long been a strong and generous champion of education, and the urgent need to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goal 4. I appreciate the opportunity to shine a spotlight on this vital issue today.
Education is the foundation of social progress. It’s the engine of decent work and prosperity. It forges lasting pathways to inclusion and equality — especially for women and girls. And education is the best poverty-fighting tool we have. In short, education is the foundation of a renewed social contract, anchored in human rights, social justice and inclusion.
But, the cracks in this vital foundation are becoming too large to ignore. And relentless pressures are making the gaps wider. The pressure of widening inequalities — within and among nations. The pressure of a polarized and divided world, where solidarity and solutions are in short supply.
And the financial pressure of Governments and global financial institutions unable to provide the level of support required to fund education systems that can reach every learner.
Despite progress, 272 million children and youth remain out of school — most of them in the world’s poorest countries — with millions more in conflict zones. Even for those in classrooms, learning outcomes are falling, with reading proficiency declining for both primary and secondary students since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Too many children leave school without the skills they need. Millions of learners lack access to digital tools. Girls in the poorest countries are least likely to attend upper secondary education. And we face a dramatic teacher shortage — an estimated 44 million worldwide.
Education can be an engine of transformation for societies and economies. But only if we can repair the cracks in this vital foundation, and strengthen education systems for the future.
I see four areas of urgent repair. First, we must repair the financing gap, which has swelled to 97ドル billion annually. Education is not a cost to be contained. It’s a strategic and necessary investment in every society’s future. Governments must dedicate a minimum of 15 per cent of domestic revenue and 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to education.
And developing countries must get the support they need to make these investments. This includes tripling the lending power of multilateral development banks, leveraging private finance, easing debt burdens and reforming global financial institutions so they better meet the needs of developing countries. That’s why they must have stronger representation on the boards of international financial institutions.
Second, we must repair the access gap. From students in war zones and disaster areas, to migrants and refugees, to those living in poor and underserved communities, to girls and persons with disabilities, too many are denied their right to education.
We must scale up investments in programmes, infrastructure and technology that can reach every child with the learning and skills they need and deserve. This must include closing the gender gap, once and for all. Education can be the "great equalizer" and support human rights and social justice for all — but only if we ensure no one is left behind.
Third, we must repair the teacher gap. Teachers are on the front lines of education. But, millions lack the support, tools and training they need to deliver inclusive and quality learning.
Following the Transforming Education Summit, the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession developed concrete recommendations to ensure that every learner has access to a professionally trained, qualified and well-supported teacher. I call on all countries, teachers’ unions and partners to help bring these recommendations to life in classrooms around the world.
Finally, we must repair the quality gap. This means strengthening the foundation of learning — reading, writing, math and science. But, quality education must go further, including critical thinking and problem-solving so students learn how to learn.
It must reconfigure education systems so people can learn throughout their lives. It must include skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling, so people can contribute to the fast-growing digital and green economies. It must include entrepreneurial skills and it must safely harness digital technology, including artificial intelligence (AI). Not to replace teachers, but to empower them. Not to profit a few, but to benefit all.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed key recommendations on AI frameworks to help countries build capacity to deploy this technology safely and effectively in schools. We must ensure that technological innovations drive inclusive and accessible education systems, everywhere.
The Doha Political Declaration adopted here provides fresh momentum in our efforts to end poverty, ensure full and productive employment and decent work, and social integration.
Education is the most powerful tool we have to reach all of these goals — and indeed, all of the Sustainable Development Goals. And it is a vital engine of transformation for countries, communities and people everywhere. Together, let’s put quality education into the hands of every learner, and every community, in the world.