The UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, says it will partner the Federal Government, UN agencies and other stakeholders, to make universal quality education a priority.
Mr Macaulay Olushola, National Professional Officer, UNESCO, made this known in a statement in Abuja, today.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the UN General Assembly has proclaimed January 24, as the International Day of Education, in recognition of the role of education in peace and development. Olushola said that Nigeria was at the forefront of celebrating the 1st edition of The International Day of Education.
According to him, the day is an important step towards promoting education as a fundamental aspect of sustainable development.
He described education as not only a human right, but also key to sustainable development.
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“The right to education is one of the key principles underpinning the Education 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) programme, adopted by the international community in September 2015.
UNESCO has been mandated to lead the 2030 Global Education Agenda through Sustainable Development Goal 4. The roadmap for achieving this is Education 2030’s Framework for Action (FFA).
Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will fail to achieve gender equality and break the cycle of poverty that affects millions of children and young people.’’
Olushola noted that the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) revealed that 262 million children and young people were still out of school.
According to the statistics, 617 million children and adolescents can neither read nor perform simple calculations. Less than 40 per cent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete secondary education, and nearly four million children and young refugees are out of school.
This is an attack on their right to education, and it is unacceptable,” he said.
However, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mrs Audrey Azoulay, in a message, said the world was still far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4.
“We must give a new impetus to global cooperation and collective action.
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Our challenge is to ensure that education benefits everyone by promoting inclusiveness and equity at all levels, so that no one is left behind.
This requires attention to girls, people living with disabilities, those living or affected by HIV, migrants, internally displaced persons and refugees.’’
Azoulay noted that supporting teachers and ensuring gender equality would be better reflected in education and training. She, therefore, called for an urgent need to strengthen national resources and international aid, saying that not investing in education would lead to deepening divisions, inequalities and exclusion within societies.
NAN reports that the adoption of the resolution of the General Assembly was co-presented by Nigeria and 58 other member states, to support transformation actions toward inclusive education. (NAN)
