Blog

Education Cannot Wait has published an interview with Richard Bennet, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan:

“The ban on education for girls above the sixth grade is of course having a devastating impact on Afghan girls. They see their future lives and opportunities having been narrowed almost entirely to the domestic sphere, and this, combined with the prospect of early or forced marriage, has driven thousands of them into depression. Self-harm, including suicides and suicidal ideation, has risen dramatically. Families are being torn apart, with siblings separated, and communities fractured. The education ban is impacting Afghan society as a whole. Let alone the denial of the fundamental right to education, no society can prosper if half the population is not able to contribute to its economy. The long-term consequences include deepening poverty and gender inequality, an increase in gender-based violence and child marriage, and more child labour and other forms of exploitation. The devastating consequences will be intersectional and intergenerational. Education is a fundamental right and also provides crucial protection.”

Read the full interview.

African education leaders have united to eliminate learning poverty in Africa by 2035. At the end of the 2024 Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX 2024), held in Kigali, Rwanda in November 2024, 22 Ministers of Education, and 12 Heads of Ministerial Delegations from 34 countries in Africa endorsed the African Union’s call to declare a ‘Decade of Education’. This aims to tackle the continent’s learning crisis. In her speech, First Lady of Rwanda, Mrs J. Kagame, asked:

“Should we fail to strengthen Foundational Learning and critical thinking, increase primary education completion rates, and allocate more resources to education, specifically to the more vulnerable learners, what is to be the long-term cost to the youth of this continent, their skills development, employability, and social welfare?”

To read the press release.

UNHCR issued the mid-year report about the Refugee Response Plan for Sudan in June 2024, but the situation has not improved. A recent news article by Education Cannot Wait wrote:

“With millions of people fleeing the brutal conflict, hunger and atrocities in Sudan, the education system in the neighboring state of Chad is reaching the breaking point. Since April 2023, over 629,000 refugees have entered the country, along with over 200,000 Chadian returnees.” The Chad plan received only 23% funding by November 2024. The overall plan had only received 19% of funding in June 2024.

The underfunding of the response plan impacts all neighbouring states and the services they can deliver to the refugees, especially children. For example “Egypt: 74,570 school-aged refugee children are not enrolled in schools and approximately 5,380 unaccompanied and separated children and children with special needs are not reached with educational programmes, denying them the specialized support they require for their development and well-being.”

Read the ECW press release is in English and French.

Read the article for the June mid-year plan update.

In line with the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report’s call to view all education actors as part of a single system, the blog highlights the need for collaboration between all education stakeholders: governments, non-state education providers, researchers, innovators, funders, CSOs, and community groups.

This blog introduces the All Hands on Deck for SDG4 Toolkit.

“Each stakeholder brings their own strengths and roles within education systems. The new action toolkit helps different education stakeholders to engage with each other effectively. It comprises a set of free resources to support better collaboration and integration across national, subnational and regional education systems. It has been commissioned by IDP Foundation in collaboration with Global Schools Forum and Oxford MeasurED, under the umbrella of the All Hands On Deck Initiative.”.

Read the blog, view the resources, and find a link to register for an introductory webinar.

With just five years until 2030, the global crisis of equity and inclusion in education remains as deep as ever: 33% of students in the poorest countries are out of school, compared to 3% in the richest countries. But transforming education systems is possible, leading to economic growth and a path to peace.

A new UNESCO report provides insight into 7 ways that are important for countries to succeed in their education transformation journeys. Three examples are for inclusive education:

“All countries have reported actions towards inclusion, equity and gender equality in education. Still, significant challenges remain, particularly for refugee and displaced children and youth, who are at high risk of educational exclusion.”

Read the article.

The Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) has selected nine new projects from its recent call for proposals for applied research projects to generate and mobilize evidence to contextualize and scale the impact of promising or proven innovative approaches to strengthen inclusive early learning and school readiness.

The selected projects focus on two core issues in early childhood care and education for children aged three to eight years:

• inclusive early learning pedagogies;
• foundational skills for a smooth transition to primary school.

Read the article for more information on the projects.

In May 2021, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Information Exchange (KIX) launched the project, Strengthening In-service Teacher Mentorship and Support, which involves a teacher support model called School-based In-service Teacher Training (SITT) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia.

SITT is a practice-based approach that involves training experienced teachers and college tutors to mentor other secondary school teachers through peer learning exchange, model lessons, and team teaching. It has now published various reports on its findings.

Read the outcomes and download the reports.

In 2021, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Information Exchange (KIX) began funding research on gender norms in Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and São Tomé & Príncipe that could inform knowledge mobilization and capacity strengthening strategies to promote gender equality in schools.

The research team unearthed disparities in girls’ access to education within the region and identified the extent to which inadequate financial resources, child marriage, and familial duties uphold gender inequality in each country context.

Improving knowledge on gender norms to promote gender equality in schools in Africa was foremost a research project. The lead institution, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), explored innovations on gender equality and analyzed contextual factors that influence the integration of gender equality into education systems.

Read the outcomes (English) and download the reports (French).

The World Future Council is introducing the finalists of the World Future Policy Award for peace and future generations, which takes place on 27 November in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Future Policy Award celebrates top policy solutions for current and future generations. Two education initiatives are among the finalists:

Rwanda’s Peace Education Programme (RPEP) aims to promote peace, social cohesion, and reconciliation following the 1994 genocide. It integrates Peace and Values Education into the national curriculum, focusing on empathy, critical thinking, and conflict prevention. The programme uniquely employs a Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) and narrative-based teaching, using survivor testimonies to deepen understanding of peacebuilding. Key outcomes include improved social cohesion and a stronger culture of reconciliation, positioning the programme as a strong model for peace education.

Executive Order No. 570, implemented in the Philippines institutionalises peace education in basic and teacher education. Its goal is to promote a culture of peace by equipping students and educators with conflict resolution and nonviolent skills. The policy integrates peace education into the formal curriculum and fosters collaboration among government agencies, NGOs, schools and universities. Key outcomes include reduced school violence and the empowerment of educators and students to address the root causes of conflict, contributing to national unity and social cohesion.

Read more information.